Anil Deshmukh resigned as Maharashtra home minister in 2021. (FILE)
Former Maharashtra Home Minister and senior NCP (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh on Sunday claimed that dismissed police officer Sachin Waze was levelling allegations against him at the behest of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who wants to exact political revenge.
Mr Deshmukh, who resigned as state home minister in 2021 after ex-Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh accused him of setting a target to collect Rs 100 crore a month from bars and restaurants, dared Mr Fadnavis to make Justice Chandiwal Commission report public, claiming he had been given a clean chit.
Reacting to Mr Deshmukh's allegations, Mr Fadnavis said the NCP (SP) politician is saying "meaningless imaginary things".
The Deputy Chief Minister said the Chandiwal Commission report was submitted when the Maha Vikas Aghadi government was in power but no action was taken.
"Retired Justice Chandiwal conducted an inquiry for 11 months on the allegations against me by former Mumbai commissioner Param Bir Singh and dismissed police officer Sachin Waze, who had clearly stated that neither I nor my PA had asked him for money or given him any," Mr Deshmukh told reporters, a day after Mr Waze reiterated bribery allegations against him.
Mr Deshmukh accused Mr Fadnavis of taking "political vengeance" by levelling allegations against him using Mr Waze and not making the Chandiwal panel report public.
Notably, Mr Deshmukh recently accused Mr Fadnavis of trying to exert pressure as the then opposition leader when he (Deshmukh) was home minister in the erstwhile MVA government, to frame key politicians including the then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and a few ministers.
"Justice Chandiwal submitted the report to the state (Mahayuti) government two years ago. I had written to Fadnavis several times requesting him to place the findings before the public. However, they have not been made public or placed before the state legislature so far," he said.
Mr Fadnavis countered Deshmukh saying the MVA government sat on the commission's report when it was in power (November 2019 to June 2022) and didn't take any action (on its findings).
"Anil Deshmukh was the home minister in the previous government. He made Param Bir Singh the commissioner of Mumbai Police and reinstated Sachin Waze into service (of Mumbai Police). Similarly, it was the High Court and not the Central government which initiated an FIR and handed over his (Deshmukh's) case to CBI based on Param Bir Singh's statement," Mr Fadnavis told reporters.
A glance at the rulings of the high court on Mr Deshmukh's bail pleas will show whether he is guilty or innocent, he added.
Mr Waze, currently lodged in Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai, reiterated bribery allegations against Deshmukh on Saturday while being escorted by police.
BJP spokesperson Ram Kulkarni termed Mr Deshmukh's allegations against the deputy chief minister "childish" and said the CBI has evidence of the former's "misdeeds".
Mr Deshmukh was released on bail in a corruption case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation in December 2022 after the Bombay High Court refused to stay its bail order.
Mr Deshmukh remained incarcerated after his arrest in November 2021 by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged money laundering case, before he was granted bail.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)