Mumbai: The BJP and NCP leaders from the Mahayuti are at loggerheads with each other in the Beed district. Maharashtra BJP MLA Suresh Dhas on Friday met Beed’s new Superintendent of Police (SP) Navneet Kavat in connection with the gruesome murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. Mr. Dhas alleged that NCP minister Dhananjay Munde should be investigated. NCP hit back saying the BJP legislator has taken ‘supari’ to defame Mr. Munde.
Mr. Munde, who is now food and civil supply minister in the Devendra Fadnavis government, has been cornered by the opposition parties as well as BJP MLAs in connection with murder of the sarpanch of Massajog village in Kej tehsil of Beed district. On December 9, Deshmukh was allegedly abducted and later brutally murdered after he intervened in hooliganism and extortion bid at a wind power plant company Avada Green Energy (AVG), at his village Massajog. The incident has caused a major uproar in the state with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavi admitting “complete lawlessness” in Beed.
BJP leader Suresh Dhas, who is an MLA from Ashti Assembly constituency in Beed district, slammed the NCP minister. Speaking with the reporters after meeting the Beed SP, Mr. Dhas targetted Mr. Munde referring to him as “Aaka” (master) of criminals in Beed.
Without directly naming the minister, Mr. Dhas said that “Aaka” has 100 to 150 acres of land in the district and has constructed dams spending Rs 30-40 crore on these lands. “From where did Aaka get so much money in five years?” he asked.
The BJP lawmaker also said that the NCP leader had encroached upon around 1,400 acres of grazing land in Beed. “There are 600 brick kilns on grazing land in Shirsala village. Out of these, 300 brick kilns are illegal. The brick kilns belong to the workers of Aaka," he alleged.
Dismissing the BJP MLA’s allegations, NCP spokesperson and legislator Amol Mitkari said that Mr. Dhas has taken a ‘supari’ to finish the political career of Mr. Munde. “Since Pankaja Munde and Dhananjay Munde are working together, the Mahayuti and opposition MLAs have been working systematically through Suresh Dhas to finish the political career of Mr. Munde. Even a social activist has also been roped in (for this work),” he said.
However, Mr Dhas said that Amol Mitkari is a small person and warned him not to cross his path as it would “cost him dearly”.
“What does he mean by cost dearly? The home department and the police administration should take serious cognisance of it and take appropriate action against Mr Dhas,” the NCP spokesperson said.
