(From left ) BJP leaders Sudhir Mungantiwar, Eknath Khadse, state president Raosaheb Danve, Union minister Venkaiah Naidu, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Prakash Javadekar and Vinay Sahasrabuddhe at the the two-day State Executive Committee meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), held at Balgandharva Rangamandir, in Pune. (Photo: Asian Age)
(From left ) BJP leaders Sudhir Mungantiwar, Eknath Khadse, state president Raosaheb Danve, Union minister Venkaiah Naidu, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Prakash Javadekar and Vinay Sahasrabuddhe at the the two-day State Executive Committee meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), held at Balgandharva Rangamandir, in Pune. (Photo: Asian Age)
Worried about the deteriorating party image after corruption allegations were made against leaders, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday backed former minister Eknath Khadse and water resources minister Girish Mahajan, who had gained attention for their alleged involvement in various scams. The CM said that Mr Khadse, who had resigned from the state Cabinet, would emerge clean from the probe into allegations against him.
Mr Fadnavis was speaking at the two-day state BJP convention attended by Union urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu, Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari and state BJP president Raosaheb Danve. Mr Fadnavis initially avoided comment on the Khadse issue. But he later said, “I am confident that Nathabhau (Khadse) will emerge clean from this ‘Agnipariksha’ (test by fire).”
Mr Khadse, who drew flak for alleged irregularity in buying an MIDC plot at Bhosari in Pune and subsequently stepped down, was present on the dais when the chief minister made the comments. Speculation abounded that Mr Khadse might not attend the event in the wake of his resignation from the Cabinet. The senior BJP leader resigned on June 4 after facing heat over a series of allegations including irregularities in a land deal and calls allegedly received from underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s residence in Pakistan, besides the alleged bribe sought by Khadse’s ‘PA’.
Referring to Mr Mahajan, Mr Fadnavis said he had checked the allegations against the minister and found there was no truth in them. Mr Mahajan attracted flak for purchasing Mahar Vatan land (land bestowed on members of Mahar community during the British or pre-British period) and not showing it in his affidavit. “I have asked the collector to check all the past records. There is a register from 1885 and it does not mention anything about Mahar Vatan land,” he said.
The chief minister also attacked the opposition Congress and NCP, saying they were “targeting” the ministers because there were no scams in the government that was working “honestly”. He alleged that NCP leaders had grabbed government plots and deserved criminal investigation into their dealings, adding that they had no moral right to accuse the BJP ministers of wrongdoing. “Return the government plots before making such baseless allegations against our ministers,” Mr Fadnavis said.
