The inquiry in the Maharashtra irrigation scam against Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has been closed, News18 reported.
The state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) closed its file of inquiry against Ajit, according to the report.
This dramatic development comes just 48 hours after the NCP leader extended his support to the state BJP, and was sworn in as the deputy of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The Shiv Sena deputy leader Priyanka Chaturvedi, tweeting out the copy of the letter, slammed the ruling dispensation:
वाह वाह सत्ता का खेल,
अब पता चल क्यूँ हुआ ये मेल
जाँच हुई फेल
ना लेनी पड़ेगी कोई बेलCases closed, corruption charges dropped, shamelessness to be in power exposed #MahaDeceit pic.twitter.com/dBELS9qgAA
— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) November 25, 2019
After remaining ensconced in his South Mumbai residence throughout Sunday, Ajit met Fadnavis late at night and held closed-door discussions.
Senior BJP leaders Chandrakant Patil, Vinod Tawade and Girish Mahajan attended the meeting held at the official residence of the chief minister, the party sources said.
A late night tweet from the CMO Maharashtra, however,bsaid the CM and the Deputy CM discussed various measures for rain-hit farmers. "CM @Dev_Fadnavis and DCM @AjitPawarSpeaks today met and discussed on various measures for additional support &
assistance to unseasonal rain affected farmers. Tomorrow it will be further discussed with the Chief Secretary & Finance Secretary".
In a dramatic turn of events in Maharashtra, President's Rule was lifted on Saturday morning, following which Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar were sworn in as chief minister and deputy chief minister, respectively, by the governor. The development came hours after the new alliance of Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress arrived at a consensus that Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will be their chief ministerial candidate.
What is the Maha irrigation scam?
Fadnavis, after returning to power on 12 December, 2014, gave his assent for the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to conduct an inquiry into the irrigation scam.
The scam came to light in 2012 when Vijay Pandhare, the then chief engineer in the water resources department, wrote letters to the Maharashtra chief minister and governor pointing out the irregularities and cost variation in irrigation projects.
It was alleged that Ajit, who was Water Resources Minister between 1999 and 2009, had approved 38 projects worth Rs 20,000 crore in 2009 by tweaking rules and without clearance of Governing Council of Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC).
Moreover, despite huge expenditure, it appeared that there was no significant rise in irrigated land in the state. The percentage of irrigation potential had increased by just 0.1 percent in past 10 years, despite an expenditure of Rs 70,000 crore on such projects.
In 2012, the then Maharashtra government, led by the Congress' Prithviraj Chavan, had tabled a white paper on the issue in the Maharashtra Assembly, giving Ajit a clean chit.
After the clean chit, Ajit was brought back into the Maharashtra cabinet.
from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/2QZ3aGD
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