Twodays after former Mumbai Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh's'letter-bomb', the Nationalist Congress Party on Monday alleged the IPS officerof not being truthful and issued a video statement raising serious doubts onthe sequence of events mentioned in the letter to Chief Minister UddhavThackeray.
NCPNational Spokesperson and Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik said there were"too many" loopholes and until a full-fledged probe was carried outinto all allegations raised, "there's no question of Deshmukh'sresignation".
Maliksaid that he (Singh) wrote the letter after he had been removed from the postof Mumbai CP.
"Moreover,on the relevant dates mentioned in the letter, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh wason a tour of Vidarbha from February 1-5, later he was in quarantine forcoronavirus and under treatment till his Covid-19 report came negative byFebruary 27," Malik said.
Heclaimed that as soon as Singh got the inkling of his transfer on March 17, hecreated the WhatsApp chats on March 16 with a sense of urgency in his messages.
"There are many such questions. However, the allegations he hasraised are serious so there will be a full-fledged probe into them. Until theoutcome of the probe, there's no question of Deshmukh's resignation,"Malik asserted
TheMaha Vikas Aghadi's other allies Shiv Sena and Congress also reiterated thatSingh's letter was "a conspiracy to destabilize the government" andostensibly written under "pressure" from central agencies.
WhileRevenue Minister (Congress) Balasaheb Thorat said that the opposition BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) keeps targeting the government and different ministers,Sena's Chief Spokesperson and MP Sanjay Raut said that the issue has"served to malign the image of the MVA".
Lateon Sunday, after a meeting between NCP President Sharad Pawar, state NCP chiefJayant Patil, state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and others, it was decidedthat there was no question of Deshmukh's quitting in the matter.
Onthe oppositions' part, BJP Leader of Opposition and former Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis, Maha Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, and others continueto bay for Deshmukh's scalp but Congress Spokesperson Sachin Sawant has warnedthe MVA "not to succumb" to the BJP's pressures.
VanchitBahujan Aghadi President Prakash Ambedkar and senior BJP leader SudhirMungantiwar said they would meet Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari demanding thedismissal of the MVA government on this issue.
Theformer Mumbai Police chief set off a major row on Saturday when he alleged thatDeshmukh had asked suspended Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze, who hasbeen arrested in the SUV case and is in NIA custody, to collect Rs 100 crorefrom Mumbai's restaurants, bars and hookah bars.