In his first interview since taking charge of Maharashtra’s Minister of Home Affairs in April 2021, then on the brink of unprecedented chaos due to constant interference from Central probe agencies, and vilification by political opponents of the State Government, Minister Dilip Walse-Patil told The Hindu that he intended to have no confrontation with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and accepted that former Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh had misled former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, on the Antilia case briefings.
Speaking to The Hindu on recent incidents of communal violence at Amaravati in the Vidarbha region, the Minister categorically pointed out the involvement of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in organising a bandh. He said “the people know who use riots for political benefits”. He clarified that police action will not be politically motivated.
Mr. Walse-Patil is known in Maharashtra’s political circles as one of the most trusted aides of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar. He was given the charge of the State’s Home portfolio after the unceremonious exit of Anil Deshmukh in the wake of the Antilia bomb scare case and subsequent allegations of extortion by Mr. Singh.
Excerpts from the interview:
Peace was disrupted in many parts of the State a few days ago. Did the police fail in gathering intelligence, which resulted in communal violence?
The situation in Amaravati, where the violence broke out, is under control.
Initially, Muslim organisations had given a State-wide call to protest against the incidents in Tripura. Malegaon, Nanded and Amaravati saw a few incidents on that day. We had gathered intelligence but did not anticipate such a huge crowd. No permissions were sought or given for the protest march, or the agitation a day after by a political party.
The government has formed an inquiry committee which will give its report.
Political allegations have been made by the BJP, accusing the State of sponsoring violence, while your side is pointing out the upcoming elections in other States. What is your opinion?
I cannot directly blame the BJP as the probe is on, but a thing should be noted is: why was this reaction on Tripura visible only in Maharashtra and not in Gujarat or Uttar Pradesh? No serious incident took place on the first day but whatever happened took place when a political party [the BJP] gave the bandh call. Now all this is part of a probe. Action will be taken against all, be it a BJP leader or someone else, if their involvement is seen. I don’t agree with state-sponsored violence here. Ultimately, we are governing the State and we won’t do such things. On the other side, this country knows the history of those who took political mileage out of communal violence.
You were given the charge of the Home Ministry at a very crucial juncture to straighten things out. How has been your experience?
First of all, I do not think that I was given this responsibility because the department was in bad shape. Each and every Government Department has its pluses and minuses. My party has given me important responsibilities in the past as well, and today, I am fulfilling the orders of my party president in handling this department. A great many people have said a lot of things about the Home Department but our task is to do our job as per the rules. Law and order is our priority. We focus on that. We expect nobody to disrupt peace, otherwise action will be taken as per the law.
Following the Antilia bomb scare case and the allegations by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh, the department was in a bad shape. The government chose to keep quiet on that controversy. What happened exactly?
I was not the Home Minister then so I won’t be able to tell you the exact details. The only thing I can tell now is that the Government was misled on that [Antilia] case at that time by him [Parambir Singh].
Similarly, a report alleging irregularities in police transfers was made by then State police intelligence chief Rashmi Shukla. Do you think the State Government should have acted on that report because Central agencies like the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are probing those allegations now?
The report is out in public. It has telephonic conversations between certain individuals. Police transfers are conducted through the police establishment board. No Minister takes the decision. And as far as Singh’s allegation of ₹100 crore extortion is concerned, I don’t think it is factual. He himself has said in an affidavit that he has no evidence to prove the allegation. The ED and CBI are conducting their investigations. Whenever they reach a conclusion, we will decide on our next course of action. As of now, all these cases are pending in court and it won’t be right to comment.
Is the State Government going to take action against Parambir Singh?
The Supreme Court has asked him about his whereabouts. The Government will proceed as per the rules. There are FIRs against him in which inquiry, and justice, will be done. We want to assure everyone that no matter how popular or how much of a celebrity an officer is, if he has committed a mistake, there will be action.
Is the State Government in direct conflict with the CBI, especially after Subodh Jaiswal was made the Director of the agency?
I do not think so. He [Jaiswal] is doing his job and we ours. There is no conflict between us. If you are referring to the court affidavits and arguments, then both of us are simply putting our sides in front of the court. That’s it.
Are Central agencies being used to pressure your department or the State Government?
The use of Central agencies to this extent is unprecedented, be it the Sushant Singh Rajput death case or the present case of Anil Deshmukh. The State’s rights, its sovereignty, should be considered. If the Centre starts doing everything, then it will raise questions on the existence of States.
Your Cabinet colleague Nawab Malik has made serious allegations against the Narcotics Control Bureau. Will the State police launch a probe?
Malik won’t make allegations without any evidence. But the case is presently in the court. Let’s wait. If we get a complaint, the police will surely do their job.
The BJP has announced plans to hold agitations throughout the State over the Amaravati incident. How are you prepared?
The BJP was in power in the State for five years. Now they are out. It wouldn’t be appropriate for an Opposition party to create unrest through agitations. My only aim is to ensure that law and order is not disturbed, and we will ensure that.