Congress wants probe into transfer of salary accounts of police staff in Maharashtra

MUMBAI Congress leader Nana Patole has demanded a probe into the transfer of salary accounts of police staff to a private bank where chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s

MUMBAI Congress leader Nana Patole has demanded a probe into the transfer of salary accounts of police staff to a private bank where chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s wife is serving in a senior position. The party has also demanded the resignation of the CM to ensure fair probe.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party has rubbished the allegations, saying they are levelled out of “political frustration and hatred”. The party clarified that the salary accounts of the police staff are in various other banks too.

Nana Patole, who is also the campaign committee chief of the party, in a media briefing on Monday, said that Fadnavis, in 2017, ordered the police department to transfer all salary accounts to the private bank where his wife serves. “When a writ petition over this was filed in the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court, it took suo motu cognisance and converted it into a public interest litigation, as it appeared to be serious in nature. The CM, who claims to be Mr Clean, should face the probe by resigning from the post. It needs to be investigated if the CM’s wife was benefited because of such orders from the CM,” he alleged.

Patole alleged the CM has been misleading the people of Maharashtra by saying that the order of the salary accounts was passed in 2005, during the regime of Congress-NCP government. “The salary accounts of the police force were opened in 15 banks, including the one in question. But in 2017, only after Fadnavis took over as the CM and the home minister, the entire lot of salary accounts was transferred to the single bank from other 14 banks,” he said.

In a press statement BJP spokesperson Keshav Upadhye, said, “The salary accounts are in HDFC, State Bank of India and other two nationalised banks, besides in the bank in question. Fadnavis has already clarified that the state had signed an agreement for the salary accounts of various government departments in March 2005, well before he got married in November that year. He has also dared the leaders levelling allegations to prove them or retire from the politics. Patole should accept the challenge.”