Mumbai: Senior NCP leader Dhananjay Munde Tuesday hit out at Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for “covering up” corruption charges against “16 of his ministers”. He was speaking at a function “Rashtra Maharashtra” organised by the BBC Marathi News Service.
“We have nailed 16 ministers in the Devendra Fadnavis government on corruption charges with clinching evidence.
However, Fadnavis has tried to cover them up and has, therefore, committed a sin,” Munde, the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Council, claimed. Munde said there were no charges of corruption against Fadnavis, though he added that he would continue to probe to find out more.
Hitting out at the ruling BJP for “politicising” the martyrdom of soldiers, Munde said the party was taking credit for the brave deeds of the armed forces personnel.
On Amit Shah’s claim, at some political rallies, that 250 terrorists perished in the February 26 IAF air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot in Pakistan, Munde wanted to know where the BJP chief was getting such figures which even security agencies were not privy to.
Against the backdrop of NCP chief Sharad Pawar withdrawing from the April-May Lok Sabha contest, Munde refuted insinuations that all was not well in the Pawar household. “Pawar saab had announced long back he would not contest Lok Sabha polls anymore. But we had requested him to fight the 2019 polls to send a strong message, which he had said he would consider,” Munde said, terming Pawar’s decision to withdraw from Lok Sabha polls as right.
On queries that the “mahagathbandhan” had no face (prime ministerial candidate) to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, “Please don’t forget even the NDA has lost several alliances which raise question marks over Modi’s acceptability. This is Modi’s incompetence. Besides, several parties in different states have started uniting themselves.” He also refuted talk that he was part of dynastic politics by claiming he had broken ties in 2012 with the family of BJP stalwart late Gopinath Munde, who is his uncle.