Oppn targets Fadnavis for ‘soft probe’ into land deal of Ajit Pawar’s son

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has found himself politically cornered after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a probe against his son Parth Pawar’s controversial land deal on Thursday after the opposition’s pressure.

The controversial deal is related to 40 acres of land in the Mundhwa area of Pune city, which is near the posh Koregaon Park area. The opposition has alleged that this land which is worth Rs 1,800 crore was sold to Amedia Enterprises LLP for Rs 300 crore.

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Allegedly, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar and his relative named Digvijay Patil are partners in this company. Along with this, it is being alleged that not only was stamp duty of Rs 21 crore waived off in this transaction, but also files related to the land deal moved at an extraordinary speed.

Significantly, Fadnavis ordered the probe after reports of bonhomie between Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad Pawar to such an extent that the Sharad Pawar-led NCP began to openly talk about an alliance with the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, to contest elections to local civic bodies, though Deputy CM Ajit Pawar is part of the BJP-led Mahayuti ruling alliance.

The timing and methodology of the probe ordered has not gone unnoticed by sections of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) opposition and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena MLA Aaditya Thackeray said here on Friday that “There are two things in this matter. One, I heard that some registrar related to this deal has been suspended in this matter. If it is such a big matter, if this scam is true, then is this one suspension going to end this matter? And the second thing is that the BJP’s allies must have now realised that they the BJP’s allies must have now realised that they take it close but ensure that they (the BJP) takes them close, but ensures that the BJP defames them”.

The latter part of Aaditya Thackeray’s statement, which is “The BJP’s allies must have now realised that they (the BJP) takes them close, but ensures that the BJP defames them,” is being discussed across political circles, as well as the timing of CM Fadnavis ordering a probe and the manner in which it was done, after it was reported that Sharad Pawar’s NCP is likely to tie up with Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s NCP.

On Friday, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena leader Ambadas Danve tweeted a post on X that, “A case was registered in the Koregaon Park case, but the name of Parth Pawar or his company was clearly omitted! This means that the government’s magic experiments have begun within just 24 hours of the case coming to light. This will not work Chief Minister Fadnavis Sir.

“The officer investigating this matter, Vikas Kharge, is definitely of a clean image. But considering the names involved in the case, the government should also appoint a retired judge with a strong voice in this matter”. This statement made by Danve and the motivations behind Fadnavis going easy on his Mahayuti ally Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar, are also being widely discussed by political leaders.

Off the record, political leaders readily admit privately that CM Fadnavis has left a wide enough loophole by not naming Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar in the case, as a signal of his willingness to allow his Mahayuti alliance ally Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and his son to slip away if he stops making moves to ally with his uncle Sharad Pawar. Yet, none of them are keen to come on record and say so openly.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress President Harshvarshan Sapkal escalated the attack against Deputy CM Ajit Pawar by demanding his resignation and alleging, “The corruption of one of Ajit Pawar’s sons has got exposed due to the land deal case in Pune. But his other son Chiranjeevi owns a liquor company called Tango, and Ajit Pawar has taken many decisions to benefit Tango. To protect Tango, Ajit Pawar has also kept the powers of the Minister of Excise Department with his finance ministry, so that his second son Chiranjeevi will benefit through Tango”.