Will Maharashtra home min Anil Deshmukh be the next head to roll after Param Bir Singh?

Party insiders said the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leadership is mulling replacing Deshmukh, but it is unlikely to happen immediately

With Param Bir Singh shunted out of the position of Mumbai police commissioner amid the controversy over Mansukh Hiran’s death related to the Antilia bomb scare case, there are speculations that home minister Anil Deshmukh, too, may lose the portfolio.

In 2019 when the MVA government was formed, Sharad Pawar surprised everyone by picking Anil Deshmukh for the job of home minister, although the names of Ajit Pawar, Jayant Patil and Dilip Walse Patil, all senior ministers, were doing the rounds. (HT File)

Party insiders said the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leadership is mulling replacing Deshmukh, but it is unlikely to happen immediately. “There are two things. First, by shifting Deshmukh out of home department, the party doesn’t want to create an impression that he was somehow responsible for the mess,” said a senior minister, seeking anonymity. “Second, the selection of home minister is tricky. The party chief will have to pick a candidate who is acceptable to the top brass and at the same time capable of handling the department well.”

Deshmukh on Thursday said he will remain the home minister until NCP chief Sharad Pawar wants him to handle the responsibility. “Recently, Pawar saheb in a press conference in Delhi praised my work. I will remain in this position until he wants me to continue. His word is final in our party,” Deshmukh said in response to a question at a function organised by Lokmat Group.

“In my political career spanning 30 years, there is not a single blot on my image. Both the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and anti-terrorism squad (ATS) are probing what happened. All those found involved will have to face the consequences,” Deshmukh insisted.

In 2019 when the MVA government was formed, Pawar surprised everyone by picking Deshmukh for the job of home minister, although the names of Ajit Pawar, Jayant Patil and Dilip Walse Patil, all senior ministers, were doing the rounds.

“As the Antilia bomb scare issue was discussed in the assembly, it appeared the leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis had more information than the home minister. Fadnavis kept attacking the government over the issue by citing one proof after other and Deshmukh seemed to be taken by surprise. How come Fadnavis managed to get a copy of call detail records (CDR) of the conversation between Vaze and Hiran? He was a step ahead of the home minister,” said a key NCP leader.

“The party leadership is looking at this episode as Deshmukh’s inability to handle a sensitive department such as home, especially in the time of crisis, owing to which names of his probable successors are under consideration,” he addeed.

Party insiders said the possible replacement could be deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and state party unit chief Jayant Patil. Besides, health minister Rajesh Tope who impressed the party top brass by his work during the Covid crisis is another option.

Ajit would have been the first choice but he is not keen to take up the responsibility. “He (Ajit Pawar) doesn’t want to leave the finance and planning departments, as they are directly related to policy and governance whereas the home department is more about dealing with problems as they arise rather than planning,” said a NCP functionary.

Jayant Patil led the home department for a year after then home minister RR Patil stepped down following the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008. But he is also comfortable with the water resources department he is heading now, in addition to the responsibility as the state NCP chief, said the functionary.

Tope could be acceptable to all, just like Anil Deshmukh. “If both Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil refuse to take over the post, Tope might be preferred,” said the NCP functionary.

Traditionally, in Maharashtra, a politically heavyweight is given the responsibility of the home department. From Gopinath Munde to Chhagan Bhujbal to RR Patil, Jayant Patil and Devendra Fadnavis, all home ministers were political heavyweights who commanded respect in the department as well as within the government. There were allegations of Shiv Sena leaders interfering with Deshmukh’s department and directly coordinating with police officers in Mumbai for local issues. Deshmukh had reportedly complained to the NCP chief that he was not given a free hand in the home department. This was also a reason why Pawar decided not to remove Deshmukh immediately.

The NCP leadership also does not want to indicate that Deshmukh’s ouster is a fallout of the Antilia bomb scare case. “The one (Anil Deshmukh) having the responsibility of the home department has done a good job. Those involved in wrongdoings were found and exposed and it was proved that stern action can be taken,” Pawar told reporters in Delhi on Tuesday. He also expressed surprise over a question on removing Deshmukh as the home minister. “This is news to me,” he replied.

On Wednesday, Patil, too, said news of Deshmukh’s ouster is just a rumour.

State officials and former senior police officers feel the issue should have been handled differently. “The Mumbai police shouldn’t have gotten into these controversies,” said a retired home secretary, who did not wish to be named. YC Pawar, a retired IPS officer, “The home minister has not handled the case properly. It was not an ordinary extortion case. It was about the richest man of this country…Two statements made by the home minister are contradictory. In the beginning, he said investigation was in the right direction. On Thursday, he said the Mumbai police commissioner has been removed because they have found something in the probe and Singh failed to fulfill his duties... All this creates a suspicion of political patronage in this matter.”

KP Raghuvanshi, retired IPS officer, who also headed the anti-terroism squad, said, “It is unimaginable that a police officer, who is part of an intelligence unit, will plant explosives for whatever reason. The officer should have been controlled by the supervisors.”