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Amid controversies in Maharashtra, Supriya Sule meets Sonia Gandhi
Sule is the first leader from NCP to meet Gandhi amid the controversies that have led to a major beating to the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government’s image
Member of Parliament (MP) Supriya Sule, who is the daughter of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, met interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday. Sule reportedly apprised Gandhi of the ongoing situation in Maharashtra.
The meeting assumed significance as it was held in the backdrop of the controversies in the state involving state home minister Anil Deshmukh, after the Antilia explosive scare and allegations of extortion and corruption in the police force, came to light.
“Thank you so much Hon. Mrs. Sonia Gandhi Ji for your valuable guidance. It’s always such pleasure interacting with you (sic),” Sule tweeted after the meet.
Sule is the first leader from NCP to meet Gandhi amid the controversies that have led to a major beating to the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government’s image. On March 21, Congress leader Kamal Nath met Sharad Pawar in Delhi in view of the ongoing developments in the state. The meeting took place a day after the then Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh accused Deshmukh of assigning former cop Sachin Vaze, arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Antilia case, a target to collect ₹100 crore each month from establishments, among other allegations.
Deshmukh is also facing allegations of corruption in the postings of Indian Police Service (IPS) officers. The allegations were levelled by the leader of Opposition and former chief minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis, based on a report prepared by former intelligence commissioner Rashmi Shukla.
NCP has already refuted all the allegations against Deshmukh. The MVA government has decided to form a judicial commission to probe into the accusation of extortions. A report prepared by chief secretary Sitaram Kunte over Shukla’s report stated that transfer of IPS officers named in her report did not take place at all. The report from Kunte was sought by CM Uddhav Thackeray.
A delegation of senior leaders from all the three ruling parties, headed by CM, will also be meeting Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to apprise him of details on the controversies.
