‘You'll burn in that fire’: Raut warns against ‘President’s rule’ in Maharashtra

Several opposition leaders such as Republican Party of India (RPI) chief and Union minister Ramdas Athawale have demanded President’s rule in Maharashtra after former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh accused home minister Anil Deshmukh of running an extortion racket.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Monday issued a warning over possible attempts to impose President’s rule in Maharashtra amid controversy after former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh accused state home minister Anil Deshmukh. Republican Party of India (RPI) chief and Union minister Ramdas Athawale is among those who have demanded the imposition of President’s rule in Maharashtra after Singh wrote an unsigned letter to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray accusing Deshmukh of setting extortion targets of ₹100 crore for some police officials.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut (HT File Photo)

“If someone is attempting to impose President’s rule in Maharashtra by misusing central agencies, then I am warning them-you yourself will get burnt in that fire,” Raut, the Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP, said according to news agency ANI.

The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, comprising the Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress, has come under pressure from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to sack Deshmukh from his post. Deshmukh, a leader of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, has denied Singh’s allegations and threatened to file a defamation case against the senior police official.

On Sunday, Pawar, who is credited as the architect of the alliance, called allegations against Deshmukh ‘serious’, saying that Thackeray has the prerogative to take appropriate action into the allegations. After a meeting late on Sunday night at Pawar’s residence in Delhi, NCP leader Jayant Patil stressed that there was no reason for Deshmukh to step down.

“If NCP chief has decided that allegations should be probed, then what is wrong? Anyone can level any allegation. If people take ministers’ resignation just like that, then it will be difficult to run the government,” Raut said, according to news agency ANI.

“HM said that the contents of the letter bomb should be probed, CM should probe it. NCP chief said that it should be investigated. If the government is ready to accept the challenge of probing this, then why is the issue of resignation being raised repeatedly?” he asked.

Last Wednesday, the Maharashtra government transferred Singh as the commandant general of Home Guards, holding him responsible for the mishandling of the probe into the explosive-laden SUV that was found near the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani on February 25.

Before that, assistant police inspector (API) Sachin Vaze, who was heading the probe into the case before it was transferred to the National Investigation Agency by the Union home ministry, was arrested by NIA. Vaze’s arrest put further pressure on the alliance to take some action in connection with the case.