MP CM Shivraj wants Anil Deshmukh's to quit, says 'MVA has toppled all corruption records'

Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan demanded Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh's resignation after former Mumbai Police CP Param Bir Singh's explosive letter levelling extortion allegations against the NCP leader. Attacking the MVA government, CM Shivraj claimed that the Maharashtra government under Uddhav Thackeray had toppled all records of corruption and that development was stalled in the state. Shivraj Singh Chouhan's attack comes amid the growing demand for Anil Deshmukh's resignation after Param Bir Singh accused him of indulging in corruption, malpractice and misdeeds. 

"The way allegations are being levelled, skeletons are coming out of the closet in a sequence. This is the limit of corruption. The concerned minister must resign immediately", MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan told reporters on Sunday. 

MVA govt gets into a huddle

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has gone into a huddle, with a series of meetings scheduled within & between the MVA allies in the aftermath of Param Bir Singh's allegations. CM Uddhav Thackeray has called for a meeting of top officers in the state's Home department, which was run by NCP up until now, to study the legal ramifications of the ongoing crisis and potential recourse. The Maharashtra CM is also scheduled to hold a meeting of the law and judiciary department. Sources have also informed that the three MVA allies - Congress, Shiv Sena and NCP - are also scheduled to meet on Monday evening. 

Anil Deshmukh was to travel to Delhi on Monday but his visit to Sharad Pawar has been put on hold, with the NCP's leaders in Maharashtra set to hold a meeting in Mumbai. Anil Deshmukh has been asked to remain till this meeting takes place, sources said. On Sunday, senior NCP leaders Jayant Patil and DyCM Ajit Pawar participated in a three-hour-long meeting at Pawar's residence in the national capital.  Maharashtra DG (Home Guards) Param Bir Singh had following his transfer from the Mumbai CP's position sent an 8-page letter to CM Thackeray and Governor Koshyari accusing Anil Deshmukh of indulging in 'misdeeds' and 'malpractices' and narrating an explosive account even alleging 'extortion' and insinuating political meddling in his affairs and activities. On Monday morning, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that the Chief Minister would take appropriate decisions over the scandal and also launched a broadside against Param Bir Singh, crediting his past work but then miring his latest letter in doubt. Earlier, estranged Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam had also suggested the ED should file a case in the matter, which it is likely to do, after it receives the NIA's preliminary report.

Param Bir Singh's letter

In his 8-page letter to CM Uddhav Thackeray, Param Bir Singh has refuted Deshmukh's statements that his transfer was due to 'serious lapses in the investigation', the 'serious lapses are not pardonable', and that his transfer was 'not on administrative grounds'. Furthermore, Singh alleges that Vaze had been summoned by Deshmukh to his residence several times in the past few months 'setting a target of accumulating Rs 100 crores a month' from 1,750 bars, restaurants and other establishments in Mumbai - collecting Rs 2-3 lakhs from each. He added that the Home Minister had said that a monthly collection of Rs 40-50 crores were achievable from such establishments and the rest could be 'collected from other sources'. Accepting his police force's full responsibility, Singh in the letter claimed that there was no evidence against him and invited to check the call records of Sachin Vaze if need be. 

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra ATS claimed to have made a major breakthrough in the Mansukh Hiren alleged death case, arresting a bookie and a convicted former constable who is out on parole. The latter had allegedly met Sachin Vaze in his CIU office a day before Hiren had been found dead, whereas the former had arranged SIM-cards from Gujarat which were used by Vaze, one of which was used to make the last phone call to Hiren. The ATS chief visited the embattled Maharashtra Home Minister's home on Monday morning.