Just a month after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s photo with Pune goon Baba Bodke, yet another photo of the leader has surfaced with an alleged terrorist, Akbar Hussain alias Raju Batla.
Raju Batla is a history-sheeter who has 23 cases registered against him for smuggling, extortion, attempt to murder and murder. “He shot to national fame when he was arrested in a conspiracy to assassinate BJP Leader L K Advani,” said Preeti Sharma-Menon, National Spokesperson of Aam Adami Party (AAP). She alleged that currently the said person is externed by Mumbai Police.
“The most ridiculous part is he lives in Govandi in plain sight and continues business as usual with little heed to the tadipar order. His wife Khairunissa Hussain is a Congress Corporator from this area and her only claim to fame is she was caught travelling to BMC in car stolen from a high profile lawyer,” said Ms Sharma-Menon.
Clarifying on the photo controversy, CM Office on late Tuesday night issued a statement which said that the said photograph is from 2015. “It is a tradition of many years that elected representatives, ambassadors of many countries, corporators and their families are invited in Mumbai University on August 15. During the ceremony in 2015, relatives stood in a queue to click a photograph with CM and during that time, said person who is the husband of Congress corporator Khairunnisa Hussain was present and clicked a photograph with Chief Minister,” said the statement. It also added that raising issues which have no significance after two years and reiterating them despite being answered is absolutely uncalled for.
This is not the first time that Mr Fadnavis has landed in a controversy for posing a photo with a criminal. A month ago, Pune’s infamous criminal Baba Bodke clicked a photograph with him inside CM’s official residence Varsha, amidst rumours of him joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). CM office later claimed that Bodke had entered Varsha along with a women’s delegation from Navi Mumbai and he posed for a photograph with Mr Fadnavis.
Not only CM, but several leaders from the BJP have faced the similar confroversy. Former Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse had to resign from his position over allegations of telephonic conversations with gangster Dawood Ibrahim who is presently residing in neighbouring Pakistan. Riyaz Bhati, another alleged Dawood aide is said to be very close to BJP’s Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar.
“Law and order seems to have broken down in Maharashtra completely and the antics of Maharashtra Police have created a sense of fear amongst the citizens – are they capable of safeguarding our state?”asked Ms Sharma-Menon, demanding Mr Fadnavis to appoint a separate Home Minister for the state instead of him carrying the responsibility.
