Tribune News Service
Mumbai, November 25
The Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Maharashtra Police today closed investigation into nine of the 20 cases in the Rs 70,000-crore irrigation scam in which Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was accused by the BJP of siphoning of public funds. The ACB later clarified none of these cases was linked to Ajit Pawar.
The ACB today filed a closure notice pertaining to nine cases. A copy of the same was also released to the media. ACB Director General Parambir Singh later told reporters that investigations were completed in the cases a few months ago and the case was officially now been closed.
“None of the cases which were closed today pertains to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. There are others..... We are probing more than 3000 irregularities in the irrigation scam,” Singh later told reporters. ACB’s decision to close the cases in the irrigation scam comes days after Ajit Pawar broke away from his uncle and party founder Sharad Pawar to support a BJP government led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The ACB’s clarification came after the Opposition claimed Ajit Pawar was “exonerated” in lieu of his support to the BJP in forming a government.
Opposition parties slammed the move with Shiv Sena spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeting: “From never, never, never to forever, forever, forever. Temporary CM signing his first order to grant clean chit for his temporary deputy?”
“No wonder, the only decision taken in ‘public interest’ by BJP-Ajit Pawar is to close all cases of corruption & malfeasance. The BJP way of probity in public life,” Congress spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala added.
The BJP had accused Ajit Pawar of approving 38 projects related to the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation in 2009 without specific clearances.
Though more than Rs 20,000 crore was spent on these projects, there was no increase in the amount of irrigated land in Vidarbha, the BJP had earlier alleged.
Rs 70K-cr irrigation scam
- The Rs 70,000-cr scam relates to ‘irregularities’ in approval & execution of irrigation projects during Cong-NCP rule
- The projects were undertaken by Vidharba and Konkan Irrigation Development Corporations
- Ajit Pawar was among NCP ministers who were in charge of irrigation dept between 1999 and 2014
from The Tribune https://ift.tt/37F5rMG
via Today’s News Headlines
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