NCP working president Supriya Sule has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of “insulting” former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik and “trapping” the Ajit Pawar group. The development comes after Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wrote a letter to Ajit Pawar opposing Malik sitting on a treasury bench seat. “I read that letter and the way Nawab Malik has been insulted is wrong,” Sule said. She also described the BJP as “Bhrashta Jumla Party”.
"What BJP did to Nawab Malik is wrong...Nawab Malik fought against drug mafia. BJP has become 'Bhrasht Jumla Party' and Nawab Malik continued to expose them...Everybody is innocent till they are proven guilty. So, how can the BJP level false allegations? I am confident that the Court will do justice and Nawab Malik will have justice. We stand with him and his family," she said.
Fadnavis' letter to Ajit Pawar
Fadnavis wrote to Pawar on Thursday conveying his reservation about including Malik, an accused in an ED case, in the ruling ‘Maha Yuti’ alliance.
Malik is out on medical bail after the ED arrested him in February last year in a money-laundering case. He attended the Winter Session of the state legislature for the first time yesterday after being released from jail and was later seen in the office of Ajit Pawar-led faction of the NCP in the legislature complex.
In the Assembly, Malik was seen sitting in the last row, next to Ajit Pawar faction’s MLA.
Opposition slams BJP
The opposition targeted the BJP, which is part of the government, pointing out that it had once dubbed Malik a "traitor" after he faced allegations of doing a land deal in Mumbai with fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim's aides.
Malik has yet not made it clear which side of the party he belongs to – Sharad Pawar faction or Ajit Pawar group of the NCP.
What did Fadnavis tell Pawar?
In his letter to Ajit Pawar, Fadnavis said that Malik has the right to attend the Assembly as an MLA, adding that the BJP does not “harbour any personal animosity or grudge" against him”.
“However, considering the kind of allegations he is facing, we are of the opinion that it would not be appropriate to induct him in the Maha Yuti,” he said while also pointing out that Malik was out only on medical bail.
“We agree that it is your prerogative (to decide) who should be inducted in your party. But every constituent party (of the Maha Yuti) has to think as to whether it would harm the alliance. Hence, we are opposed to this,” Fadnavis added.
(With inputs from agencies)
