Amit Shah-Sharad Pawar 'Meet': Sena said Anil Deshmukh forgot about sharpness required as Home Minister.
A stinging editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna on Sunday targeted Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh, indicating that the relation between the ruling allies of Maharashtra is fast turning sour. Though the Sena had initially wanted Mr Deshmukh out after the controversy over former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh's corruption allegations, it changed stance after Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar's firm stance against his removal.
The editorial comes a day after Sharad Pawar and his party colleague Praful Patel reportedly met Union Minister Amit Shah at a farmhouse in Ahmedabad. Mr Shah has not confirmed the meeting, but issued a cryptic comment that "Everything need not be made public". The NCP has denied any such meeting.
Titled "Doubting Maharashtra's character, the botched damage control" - the editorial said Mr Deshmukh "forgot about the sharpness required as home minister".
Calling him an "accidental home minister", the editorial said, "Sharad Pawar had handed over this post to Deshmukh after Jayant Patil and Dilip Valse-Patil refused it. This post has dignity and status... No person sitting on the post of Home Minister of the state can work by being surrounded by dubious characters".
"If a junior officer like Sachin Waze was running a (money) collection racket, why was the home minister not aware of it? Maharashtra government's character has been questioned many times due to what happened in past few months," the editorial read, referring to former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh's allegations against Mr Desmukh which had opened a political Pandora's box.
The editorial has upset the NCP. Senior party leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar - the nephew of Sharad Pawar - said no one should "play spoilsport" in a coalition government.
"The allotment of cabinet berths is the prerogative of head of every political party (in the coalition). No one should play spoilsport when the three-party government is functioning properly," he said.
The rift comes as the tripartite state government tries to keep an even keel amid the multiple controversies unravelled after the Mukesh Ambani explosives scare.
Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, replaced in the wake of the alleged mishandling of the case, later accused Anil Deshmukh of asking the force to collect Rs 100 crore from the city's pubs and restaurants, with Mumbai cop Sachin Waze as the lynchpin of his alleged operation.
Mr Waze is now under arrest for his alleged role in planting the car on the city's Carmichael Road. A Shiv Sena member, he was reinstated into the police force allegedly at Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's behest.
Over the last week, both Shiv Sena and the NCP have repeatedly assured that the government will complete its five-year term.