Maharashtra BJP stages protest, seeks resignation of Anil Deshmukh

The leader of opposition in Maharashtra Assembly, Pravin Darekar, led the protest with party workers outside the BJP office in Mumbai.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged a protest against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Sunday demanding the minister's resignation after a controversy erupted over the former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh writing to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray accusing Deshmukh of running an extortion racket.

The allegations were made a day after Deshmukh had said that Param Bir Singh was moved out as Mumbai Police Commissioner so that cases pertaining to Waze were probed without obstruction.

The leader of opposition in Maharashtra Assembly, Pravin Darekar, led the protest with party workers outside the BJP office in Mumbai.

Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh wrote to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday alleging that Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had indulged in "malpractices" and asked suspended API Sachin Waze to collect ₹100 crore every month.

The allegations were made a day after Deshmukh had said that Param Bir Singh was moved out as Mumbai Police Commissioner so that cases pertaining to Waze were probed without obstruction. In the letter, Param Bir Singh, who has now been posted as Commandant General of Home Guards, said that he has been "made a scapegoat to divert attention from the actual wrongdoers".