NCP men in Maharashtra home dept and their tryst with controversy

Incumbent home minister Anil Deshmukh is on the verge of losing his portfolio after narrowly surviving the opposition’s onslaught over the allegations made by IPS officer Param Bir Singh

In the recent past, there were at least four occasions when the Maharashtra home minister and home department were under severe criticism for allegations of corruption or mishandling. Significantly, every time such allegations were made, the department happened to be headed by a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) minister.

A probe panel headed by a retired high court judge KU Chandiwal will now probe allegations against Deshmukh. (HT File)

Over the past two decades, two home ministers had to resign over controversies while the third one, incumbent home minister Anil Deshmukh, is on the verge of losing his portfolio after narrowly surviving the opposition’s onslaught over the allegations made by IPS officer Param Bir Singh.

A probe panel headed by a retired high court judge KU Chandiwal will now probe allegations against Deshmukh.

During the formation of the Congress and NCP government in 1999, the latter was insistent on the home department along with finance. The party believed that finance department helps keeping financial control, while the other empowers in social control with the help of police administration. Barring the five years of the previous government led by Devendra Fadnavis during 2014-19, the NCP handled the home department for more than 16 years, and its four senior leaders were appointed as home ministers.

Past incidents

One of Deshmukh’s predecessors, Chhagan Bhujbal, also faced allegations of corruption in transfers but none of the charges against him were proven.

Bhujbal had to resign from the post in the wake of the multi-crore stamp paper scam, also known as Telgi scam, in December 2003. Though the resignation was taken following an attack on a Marathi TV channel’s office in central Mumbai for satirical depiction of the home minister’s involvement in the scam, it is believed to be just a trigger. Bhujbal’s four-year tenure saw many controversies including Telgi scam, arrest of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray and the allegations of corruption levelled by then opposition leader in the Assembly Narayan Rane who was in Shiv Sena then.

A group of NCP workers had attacked the office of Alpha Marathi, belonging to the Zee group, after the channel aired a satire on Bhujbal’s alleged role in the multi-crore stamp paper scam. NCP chief Sharad Pawar had said that Bhujbal offered to resign on moral grounds after the attack. “Everyone knows that the resignation was taken after a lot of controversy over the scam. It had dented the party and the government’s image when the Assembly elections were just a few months away,” said a senior Congress leader.

RR Patil was another home minister from the NCP to resign in December 2008, just a few days after the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai. The resignation came after his remarks kicked up a controversy. He had said, “Bade Sharon mein chhoti bate hoti rehti hai. (Small things do happen in a big city).”

He was speaking in the context of alleged intelligence failure. Later he clarified that he meant that it was difficult to keep tabs on each and every movement in a big city but he was misquoted.

The remarks led to controversy and Patil had to resign. Many in NCP maintain that Patil was made to resign by Pawar to diffuse the anger among the people that government had failed to protect them from the terrorists.

Patil, one of the longest serving home ministers (from December 2003 to December 2008 and October 2009 to September 2014), was made the home minister within a year of his resignation after the Assembly polls. “He was not sacked on the allegations of the corruption, but for his failure to handle the situation post the terror attack which was unprecedented. His statement was just a reason. In fact, in the backdrop of today’s mess, Patil is perceived to be a successful home minister. He was not a taskmaster as political boss, but his clean image helped him gaining respect in the police force,” said an official from the home department.

Soon after RR Patil had resigned in 2008, his senior party colleague Jayant Patil was made home minister for about ten months.

Leader of opposition Devendra Fadnavis too held the portfolio for five years from 2014 to 2019 when he was at the helm as chief minister. Fadnavis and Patil handled the department without much of the controversies.

Way back, during the first Shiv Sena-BJP government during 1995-99, home minister Gopinath Munde’s term too had been controversial. “The breed of ‘encounter specialist officers’ in the police force had shot to fame after police started cracking down on gang war in the city. The free hand given to these encounter specialists was questioned as some of them were believably involved into extortion as well as illegal activities related to real estate and some other businesses. Transfers in key postings too had been the subject of murmuring in the police force then,” said another NCP minister.

Former Mumbai Police commissioner MN Singh said the home department is very sensitive and needs to be handled by the home minister sensitively. “The minister should never break the chain of hierarchy as it leads to the breaking the discipline, which is the very key in the uniformed service. Whenever the ministers tried meddling with it, they had to pay the price. The political interference in police transfers and postings is badly affecting the efficiency and credibility of the police force. The current episode of the allegations against the home minister has greatly ruined the image of the Mumbai Police and the state government. People’s confidence in the police has shaken. When we say that the politicians should understand this, the police officers at the commanding positions too should have the courage to safeguard their powers and bring it to the notice of politicians,” he said.

Current state of affairs

Leaders from the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) believe that Deshmukh failed to gain command over the police force and indulged in too many announcements. A senior NCP leader said that Deshmukh announced a probe in phone tapping during Fadnavis government’s rule as well as a special investigation team to probe Bhima-Koregaon violence, but nothing happened.

“Deshmukh was never known for his administrative skills in the departments he handled in previous government. His choice as home minister surprised many, even in the NCP. Maintaining law and order and social peace in Mumbai is very important while handling home department. The home minister appears to have failed in command over Mumbai Police commissionerate and its vital crime branch, leading to the mess the police force is going through right now,” the leader said.

The leader added that the home department, under Deshmukh, failed to pre-empt the challenges in cases like Antilia explosives scare, Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, Pooja Chavan’s suicide cases. “The opposition could damage the state government in SSR death case by handing it over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and registering a case in Patna, because the home department failed in the proper strategy. In Antilia and Mansukh Hiran case, the home department could not even face the opposition properly on the floor of the Assembly. Home minister’s response time was poor,” said the minister.

Why the portfolio is so ‘lucrative’

While in the government, the NCP always ensured that the home department remains with it. The party believes that by holding the department, it gets leverage in state politics. Many a times transfers of local officers are done as per the convenience of the party in control, and thus the party has power over local administration. The ruling party leaders also believe police administration plays a key role in elections at local level, making the portfolio important.

“Transfers and promotions of police officers are directly controlled by the home minister and it gives him enormous power. The home department is assumed to be very important in keeping control in Mumbai, Bollywood and industries. Allegations of monetary considerations for transfers of police officers are not new for the department. The menace is believed to be prevailing in the police force,” said political analyst Hemant Desai.

Political implications

The controversy embroiling the home minister has led to rifts within the ruling parties. Congress leaders, in their meeting of senior leaders last week, expressed their dismay over the beating the MVA government was facing because of the NCP. The leaders said that be it their government between 1999 and 2014 or the incumbent three-party government in the state, the alliance faced embarrassment because of the controversies related to the departments handled by the NCP.

Deshmukh, during his meeting with party chief Sharad Pawar, believably complained about interference by Sena leadership in his department. He reportedly said that a Sena minister would take meetings with key officers, bypassing him. In turn, Sena leaders pointed at transfers of a few deputy commissioners of police in Mumbai by Deshmukh without taking permission from chief minister Uddhav Thackeray last year.

Fadnavis, leader of opposition and former home and chief minister, said, “Home department is a very delicate area. One has to be always careful in dealing with the force. Minimum interference in positing and discipline related to the hierarchy are the keys. If postings are done for some considerations, it is bound to create mess. It is a disciplined force, and the home minister has to maintain the discipline and follow the sanctity of the hierarchy. If the juniors are dealt directly, they tend to undermine their senior officers. It is not minister’s private force but it is for maintaining law and order in the interest of general public.”

Former minister of state for home and senior Congress leader Manikrao Thakre said the home department should always remain with the chief minister. “When I was minister of state for home, Sharad Pawar was chief minister with home department with him in 1993. He used to tell me that there should not be interference in the police department. The home department is the face of the government, and its administrative image is largely dependent on the law and order in the state. I think the political interference in the force increased in later years. To avoid it, the department should always remain with the chief minister,” he said.