Param Bir Singh letter: Charges against Anil Deshmukh serious, Uddhav Thackeray has ‘full authority’ to probe allegations, says Sharad Pawar

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said that former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh’s charges against state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh were serious in nature but the letter does not contain any info on actual collection and transfer of money to either the minister or any of his staff. He, however, said that Param Bir made the allegations after he was removed from the post of Commissioner.

On allegations against Anil Deshmukh, Pawar said that the decision to probe charges has to be made by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. “The Maharashtra CM has the full authority to take a decision regarding an inquiry on these allegations against the Home Minister (Anil Deshmukh),” Pawar said during a press conference in Delhi. When asked if Anil Deshmukh will be removed as Home Minister, Pawar said: “Will discuss with Uddhav Thackeray.”

Sharad Pawar said that Param Bir Singh brought back Sachin Vaze, not the chief minister and the home minister. He said that there has to be in-depth inquiry into the allegations by Param Bir Singh. Pawar suggested the name of former Mumbai Commissioner Julio Ribeiro’s name to head the inquiry.

Pawar said that there won’t be any impact of the incident on the state government. “I don’t know whether efforts are being made or not to topple the government (Maharashtra). All I can say is they will have no impact on the government,” Sharad Pawar said while responding to a question by reporters.