Opposition has been demanding Anil Deshmukh's resignation as Maharashtra Home Minister. (File)
Highlights
- Jayant Patil, met with NCP chief Sharad Pawar today
- Whoever is found guilty in investigation will be punished, Mr Patil said
- "We will first investigate the allegations made in the letter," he said
There is no question of Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh resigning after a police officer made allegations of corruption against him until investigation finds the truth, a state minister from the ruling alliance's partner NCP has said.
Former Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh had alleged in a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray that Mr Deshmukh had "set a target to accumulate Rs 100 crore a year".
Maharashtra minister Jayant Patil, who met with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday, said after the meeting that their colleague will not be made to resign.
"The Maharashtra government has decided that whoever is found guilty in investigation will be punished," Mr Patil said. "There is no question of the Home Minister resigning," Mr Patil said.
"We will first investigate the allegations made in the letter. Then we will probe who kept the vehicle in front of Mukesh Ambani's house and who killed Mansukh Hiran," Mr Patil said.
Param Bir Singh was transferred to the Home Guard on Wednesday for some "unforgivable" lapses, according to the Maharashtra Home Minister, in the case involving a car full of explosives found near the home of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani earlier this month.
Another police officer, Sachin Vaze, has been arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) over allegation that he was linked to the death of a man, Mansukh Hiran, believed to be the owner of the explosives-filled SUV.
The final decision on Mr Deshmukh lies with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar said on Sunday.
Mr Patil's comments, however, indicated a rift in the alliance. "The letter (Param Bir Singh's letter to the Chief Minister) is a reaction after Maharashtra Chief Minister and Home Minister decided to take a tough stand," he told NDTV.
Mr Pawar also said efforts are on to destabilise the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in Maharashtra but they will prove futile. There will be no impact on the state government because of Mr Singh's allegations and it will complete five years, he added.