Case against former minister going on, says CM Fadnavis

Nagpur: Sulking Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former minister Eknath Khadse faced a major setback on the last day of the Assembly session on Friday when chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the first information report (FIR) filed against the former minister would continue even as the judicial committee probing the allegations had now become irrelevant.

The CM was replying to the Opposition’s allegations of not doing anything about corruption charges.

Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan raised the issue of the ongoing investigation against several ministers of the BJP and Shiv Sena including Mr Khadse. To which, the CM said on the floor of the House, “Following the allegations, we set up an enquiry committee. Later, a case was filed in the Bombay high court. During the hearings, we requested the court to let us complete the inquiry and initiate subsequent action. However, the high court did not listen to us and asked us to file a FIR against Mr Khadse. With this, the relevance of the enquiry committee is gone. Its report is no longer relevant in this case and we filed the case. The investigation of the case is going on.”

On BJP leader and state housing minister, Prakash Mehta, and state industries minister Subhash Desai, too, facing allegations, the CM said, “The Lokayukta in his primary report has decided what aspects should be probed. He has given a chance to Mr Mehta to give his statement. The inquiry is going on.”

The Maharashtra government during the monsoon session on August 28 set up a one-man committee under retired bureaucrat K.P. Bakshi to inquire into allegations of graft against Mr Desai in the de-notification of industrial land in Nashik district.

The CM said, “I have received a letter from the chief of the committee stating that the inquiry is in the last stage. It will be submitted within the next 15 days to the state government.”