Mumbai: Amid speculation of Maharashtra Revenue minister Eknath Khadse losing his ministerial birth, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today met BJP chief Amit Shah in Delhi.
One of the most senior members in the cabinet, Khadse is tackling twin charges of land grabbing and links with underworld kingpin Dawood Ibrahim.
After meeting Shah, Fadnavis told reporters that he has provided BJP chief with a factual report on recent developments and held discussions.
“Party will direct us on further steps that need to be taken on basis of the report,” Fadnavis said.
Meanwhile, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu came in Khadse’s defence and told India TV that he can not be held guilty until the charges are proved against him.
Khadse’s wife, Mandakini, and son-in-law, Girish Chaudhari, jointly purchased a three-acre land in Bhosari, near Pune, for Rs 3.75 crore on April 27 this year. But the same records show that they paid Rs 1.37 crore as stamp duty. This works out to close to the stamp duty for a transaction amount of Rs 31.01 crore, the market value of the plot, reports Indian Express citing official records.
Khadse’s wife and son-in-law bought the property at Rs 1.25 crore per acre or Rs 3,088.81 per sq m. against the true market value fixed at Rs 25,630 per sq m, an eight-fold increase.
The purchase price declared by Khadse’s kin is substantially below the market value determined by the state government for the property, making a strong case of impropriety and discrepancy against Khadse.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asserted that Khadse, who has been caught in one dispute after another, was being protected by his party as he was still scot free despite having several cases against him with concrete proofs.
"An ethical hacker has provided the information and the matter is now sub-judice that there were telephone conservations between dreaded terrorist Dawood and Khadse's cell phone. Why is an explanation not being given and only clean chits? Why the matte is not being investigated thoroughly? Why is he not being dismissed?" Surjewala asked.
Gawande charged Khadse with misusing power and authority, subverting laws, bypassing norms, evading tax, pressurising officials and other wrongdoings in closing the land deal in April to benefit his family members.
The ruling BJP, however, dismissed as "baseless and mala fide" the allegations against Khadse.
Besides a united Opposition, the RSS has also expressed its displeasure over the controversies and has reportedly sought Khadse's resignation.
RSS ideologue Rakesh Sinha has also suggested Khadse to step down.
"Eknath Khadse should resign. In politics, you can not have double standards over transparency and honesty," Sinha tweeted.
On Monday, Pune-based businessman-cum-activist Hemant L. Gawande accused Khadse, his wife and son-in-law of various irregularities in the purchase of a piece of land.
Earlier, a Vadodara hacker Manish Bhangal alleged that call records from Dawood's Karachi residence show that he was in frequent touch with a mobile number registered in the name of Eknath Khadse.
Khadse was given a clean chit by the police and the minister himself held a press conference alleging his phone could have been hacked. He demonstrated, from a website, how easy it was to hack phones and sought a probe.
The beleaguered Khadse -- number two in the state cabinet and holding around 10 key portfolios, including revenue -- has been accused of corruption by different opposition parties too, which have demanded his sacking or resignation.
