MUMBAI: Shiv Sena functionary Sanjay Raut on Sunday called Anil Deshmukh an “accidental home minister”.
In his weekly column in the Sena mouthpiece Saamna, Raut said Deshmukh got the home portfolio only because other potential NCP candidates like Jayant Patil and Dilip Walse-Patil were not ready to accept this crucial post.
Within hours of the piece appearing, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar reacted sharply and advised Raut that no one should play “spoilsport” when the three-party government (Sena-NCP-Congress) was functioning properly.
Terming the home portfolio a “prestigious” one, Raut wrote that the home minister should “not be working in the company of suspects”. “The police department has already been defamed, and on top of it, such things raise doubts. Deshmukh got into trouble with some senior officials for no reason. Home minister should speak the least, only if necessary, once in a while, and keep a distance from the media. The one heading the police department is not there just to receive a ‘salute’ but is meant to offer strong leadership. How can we forget that such toughness comes from honesty?” he said.
Raut also sought an inquiry into “unlimited power” given to arrested police official Sachin Waze when he was only an officer of the rank of assistant police inspector.
“If Waze was extorting money while sitting in the police commissionerate, then why was the home minister not aware of it?” questioned the Sena functionary.
He also pointed out that the “extortionist” API was defended initially in the state legislature. However, no one was ready to respond after Param Bir Singh made allegations against Deshmukh. Subsequently, the “media was taken over by opposition leaders for some time, which was terrible”, said the Sena MP.
Raut further said that there were a “few loopholes” in the state governance, stating that MVA alliance does not have any mechanism for “damage control”. He said that no one came forward from the government side to respond to allegations made by Singh, who in his letter to the chief minister, accused the home minister of asking Waze to collect Rs 100 crore every month from bars and restaurants in Mumbai. Raut also stated that some of the incidents that have occurred in the last few months raised questions on the “character” of Maharashtra.
Pawar also told the media in Baramati that the allotment of cabinet berths is the prerogative of the chief of every ruling party in the coalition government and a similar method is being followed by Congress and Shiv Sena. He suggested to Raut that the allotment of portfolio should be respected instead of making unwarranted comments.