Sack Deshmukh immediately: BJP

The BJP on Thursday demanded the resignation of Union Science and Technology Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh for his alleged involvement in illegal land allotment to a prominent movie producer. The party said the PM should sack him if he doesn’t step down.

The BJP on Thursday demanded the resignation of Union Science and Technology Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh for his alleged involvement in illegal land allotment to a prominent movie producer. The party said the PM should sack him if he doesn’t step down.

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“Deshmukh has no moral authority to continue in office. He should step down immediately,” BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said.

She said a CAG report yet to be tabled in the Maharshtra Assembly had reportedly found Deshmukh involved in land allotment to "select NGOs" and a media baron, and added that the Supreme Court had also spoken against the minister.

Deshmukh had allegedly favoured filmmaker and producer Subash Ghai by alloting him land allegedly at throw-away prices for a film academy.

Sitharaman said Deshmukh should resign and then clear his name in this as well as the Adarsh Housing Society scam.

Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi, however, said: “Let the report be tabled in the state assembly and then we will react.”

Deshmukh has the party’s full support. Congress managers argue that the leadership will not demand resignation from a minister merely on the basis of a CAG report. The party cited the BJP’s inaction on CAG reports on Gujarat and Chhattisgarh and also Bihar where the auditor had indicted the state governments.