Three senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena — two current ministers and one former — are facing inquiries by three different agencies over allegations of corruption, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the Assembly on the last day of the winter session.
Senior BJP leader and former Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse is being investigated by the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) for alleged misuse of power to benefit his wife and son-in-law in the purchase of a land in Bhosari industrial area near Pune.
Following the allegations, Mr. Khadse had resigned on June 4 last year. Mr. Fadnavis had appointed a commission headed by Justice (retd.) Dinkar Zoting of the Bombay High Court on June 23 to investigate the matter. The committee has submitted a report.
Replying to questions raised by former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Mr. Fadnavis said that while the committee was preparing the report, a court case was filed in the matter. “The court has refused to take cognisance of the committee’s report and directed the State to file an FIR against Mr. Khadse. An FIR had been filed and the case is with ACB,” he said.
The Chief Minister’s statement essentially means the end of any hope for the political rehabilitation for Mr. Khadse. In recent interviews, Mr. Khadse has expressed unhappiness over the treatment given to him and even skipped a ‘study class’ for BJP MLAs organised by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) three days ago.
Opposition query
Housing Minister Prakash Mehta, meanwhile, has been asked to present his case in front of the Lokayukta, Mr. Fadnavis said. Leader of the Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil had asked why Mr. Mehta was still in the government.
Mr. Fadnavis had ordered a Lokayukta probe against the minister following news reports that Mr. Mehta had cleared a Slum Rehabilitation Authority proposal allowing the transfer of extra building rights granted to slum dwellers at M P Mill compound to a scheme for project-affected people. Mr. Mehta had allegedly noted on a file that the change had been “informed to the CM.”
Following a directive from the Governor, the Lokayukta had prepared a preliminary report, and sought a written reply from Mr. Mehta by December 7 as to whether he had used his office to benefit the developer. He has not yet replied, saying he was campaigning for the BJP for the Gujarat elections.
“The preliminary report was to fix the matter on which inquiry will be held, and on which the minister has been asked to reply,” Mr. Fadnavis said.
The third minister under criticism — Sena leader and Industries Minister Subhash Desai — is facing an inquiry by a government-appointed one-member inquiry committee of retired IAS officer K.P. Bakshi. The minister has been accused of corruption in denotification of industrial land in Nashik.
“The inquiry against Mr. Desai is on the right path, and the report will be presented to the government within 15 days,” Mr. Fadnavis said. He did not respond to the Opposition’s queries as to why the minister was still in the Cabinet.
