Accusing the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of attempting to pressurise him in connection with a case of illicit phone tapping, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday claimed that the Mumbai Police were trying to make him a co-accused in the matter, even as the MVA said it was not acting vindictively against the BJP leader.
Mr. Fadnavis, a former Chief Minister of the State, attributed the ruling government’s action — of directing the Mumbai Police to issue a notice against him — as a malicious response to the scams of the MVA government’s Ministers that he had been uncovering, particularly that of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Minister Nawab Malik’s alleged links with fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
A large body of BJP workers protested against the “notice” issued to Mr. Fadnavis outside his Mumbai residence ‘Sagar’, where police security was beefed up. Prior to the arrival of the Mumbai Police team, several BJP leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Pravin Darekar, MLA Nitesh Rane and MLC Prasad Lad, among others, gathered at Mr. Fadnavis’ residence in a show of solidarity. BJP activists burnt copies of the police notice in different parts of the State.
Even as the Mumbai Police team recorded Mr. Fadnavis’ statement for nearly two hours, Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil said that the BJP had no need to “create a riot over the matter” and that the police had not sent Mr. Fadnavis a notice as “an accused in the case”.
Mr. Walse-Patil further clarified that Mr. Fadnavis had been given a police questionnaire five-six times in the past year as to what his source of information was regarding a pen drive that had come into his possession in connection with the case and which he mentioned publicly, but that the BJP leader had not yet given his reply.
A case was registered under the Official Secrets Act at Mumbai’s BKC Cyber Police Station last year against unidentified persons for allegedly illegally tapping phones and leaking confidential documents. The complaint was lodged by the State Intelligence Department (SID). Before the first information report (FIR) was registered, the then Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte had alleged in his inquiry report that Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Rashmi Shukla had leaked the confidential report.
“This case [of illicit phone tapping] is now a year old and was registered on March 26, 2021. The complaint was regarding some sensitive material and technical information missing from the Mumbai SID (State Intelligence Department) office. A case has been registered under the Indian Telegraph Act and Official Secrets Act against five unidentified persons in this regard and 24 witnesses have been examined. Since Mr. Fadnavis was the last witness, the police had gone to his house to record his statement to conclude the case and there is nothing in this,” the State Home Minister said, stressing that the summons issued to Mr. Fadnavis was not a notice.
Questioning the timing of the notice during the ongoing Budget session of the State Assembly, Mr. Fadnavis retorted that there was a “big difference” in the police questionnaire that was sent to him previously by the Mumbai Police and the questions that were put to him today.
“The tenor of the questions asked by the police today was as if I had violated the Officials Secrets Act by leaking sensitive information that I had come in possession of… The MVA govt. is trying to pressure me to stop me from uncovering their scams. But I will not cave in and will move the High Court to urge that this case be given to the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation),” Mr. Fadnavis said.
The BJP leader claimed that he had uncovered a massive transfer scam that was going on in Maharashtra in 2021 and had accordingly informed the Union Home Secretary, who was the competent authority in this case, without putting out sensitive documents in the public domain by giving it to the press.
“The rattled MVA government then lodged a case as how sensitive documents leaked out of government departments [SID]. I naturally could not give documents to the MVA govt. as they were the ones who had been suppressing it for the last six months,” Mr. Fadnavis said.
Casting himself as a whistle-blower who had blown the lid on the case, Mr. Fadnavis said that he had answered all questions put by the Mumbai Police and that it was unlikely that they would be bothering him again.
Ms. Shukla is accused of tapping phones of political leaders and senior officials illegally when she was chief of the SID. She found herself at the centre of controversy after Mr. Fadnavis cited a letter purportedly written by her to the then Maharashtra Director General of Police about alleged corruption in transfers in the Police Department.
The whole issue is being seen as another chapter in the ongoing feud between the tripartite MVA government of the Shiv Sena and the NCP in Maharashtra and the BJP at the Centre.
Hitting out at the notice to Mr. Fadnavis, BJP MLA Nitesh Rane, son of Union Minister Narayan Rane, said: “Why is Mr. Fadnavis’ statement being recorded when the Assembly is in session? Is it because Mr. Fadnavis has dug up links between Nawab Malik and Dawood Ibrahim?”
BJP leader Pravin Darekar said that instead of probing who was involved in the phone tapping scandal, the Mumbai Police, at the behest of the MVA, were prosecuting Mr. Fadnavis, who had blown the whistle on the case.
“Earlier, the Mumbai Police had summoned Mr. Fadnavis to record his statement. Later, when they saw the strength of his support, the MVA government backed off and instead sent the police to Mr. Fadnavis’ home,” Mr. Darekar said.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole said it was the BJP’s culture “to distribute sweets and gloat” when some non-BJP leaders were prosecuted by Central agencies and to protest in a fit of righteousness when their leaders were being legitimately investigated.
