The Opposition taunted Devendra Fadnavis calling him a 'clean chit' Chief Minister
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has given a clean chit to four ministers facing graft allegations on the floor of the house on the last day of the budget session of the state assembly.
The four ministers are Jay Kumar Rawal (Tourism), Subhash Desai (Industries), Shivaji Patil Nilangekar (Labour) and Subhash Deshmukh (Cooperatives).
For the fifth minister Prakash Mehta (Housing), who is also facing allegations of corruption, the Chief Minister said the probe is still on.
For Jay Kumar Rawal the Chief Minister said in the house that he has no links to Toranmal Hill Resort and he is not even a director in the company that defaulted on lease payments to the Maharshtra Tourism Development Corporation.
The allegation against the Minister was that his family owned a company called Toranmal Hill Resort that had an agreement with the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation. The company had defaulted on lease payments and an eviction notice was sent to the company. The NCP had alleged that the Rawal-linked company was not evicted from the property and the company continues to run the business with the clout of the minister.
Earlier, the NCP had also accused Mr Rawal of illegal land acquisition in Dhule following the death of 84-year-old farmer Dharma Patil at the Mantralaya.
For Subhash Desai, who is also facing allegations of grabbing Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) land, the Chief Minister informed the assembly that the enquiry committee has given the Minister a clean chit and has found the allegations baseless.
Referring to allegations of an illegal loan waiver given to Labour Minister Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar, the Chief Minister said, "Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar was only a guarantor. The settlement was done as per RBI norms under RBI policy. He did not take the loan himself. It's not right to defame a young minister like this."
Addressing the Opposition regarding the allegations against Cooperatives Minister Subhash Deshmukh, the Chief Minister said, "The land on which the Minister constructed a bungalow was regularised in 2004 by your government only." The minister had been accused of building his bungalow in Solapur city on land that was reserved for a fire brigade station and garden according to the development plan.
The Opposition taunted the Chief Minister calling him a 'clean chit' Chief Minister. Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said, "Before coming to power they said '
Na khaoonga, na khaney doonga', but now the Chief Minister is busy giving clean chits while corruption scandals are tumbling out. The people of the state are watching what is going on."