Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s clean chit to the state food supply minister in the alleged tur dal scam had an enraged opposition alleging that the CM himself was involved in lifting stocks, triggering the Rs 4,700-crore scam.
“The Decision to lift the stock limit was taken by two ministers, the Food Supply minister and the CM. Now, if the CM is giving a clean chit to his subordinate, we demand to know why he was involved in the decision. Isn’t it clear who is responsible for the tur dal price hike and the scam that followed,” saidformer Chief Minister and Congress MLA Prithviraj Chavan.
Earlier, while replying to the allegations in the assembly, Mr Fadnavis had rubbished the Opposition’s claims, clarifying that none of the ministers will resign. “Maharashtra was the first state to follow the Centre’s orders to impose a stock limit. Even the Centre has acknowledged our effort to control prices of tur dal. Our efforts ensured that tur dal prices remained within the Rs 100-130 limit,” said Mr Fadnavis.
He added that the State government is planning to bring in a Price Control Act to control the profiteering tactics of traders.
On Tuesday, the Opposition had cornered the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena combine over allegations of corruption against five of its ministers. While all the ministers denied the accusations, Mr Fadnavis too ruled out any possibility of resignations.
“This government is a clean-chit government which is cheating the people of Maharashtra who voted them in. Despite providing proof to them, they are refusing to take any cognisance of it. We may have to move court if this continues,” said Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, Opposition leader in the Assembly.
The last day of the winter session of the state legislature began with an aggressive Opposition demanding an explanation from the government on the Centre’s refusal to give financial aid under the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) to Maharashtra.
