Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar is at the centre of a huge controversy after a video purportedly showing him rebuking a woman IPS officer over taking action against illegal excavation in Solapur went viral. However, the NCP has clarified that the deputy CM didn't intend to completely stop the action.
The sub-divisional police officer from Solapur, Anjali Krishna, was reportedly taking action against goons behind illegal excavation of the 'murrum' soil, and Pawar was allegedly ordering her not to do so.
“You stop the action and go back to your office. Tell the tehsildar that the action has been stopped on the orders of the deputy CM,” he is heard telling Krishna on the phone in the viral video.
In the clip, the IPS officer can be heard telling the person on the phone to call her on her personal phone number, so she could ascertain if its actually the deputy CM.
This further angers Pawar, allegedly at the other end of the call, who then sarcastically offers to make the video call, then asks:
"Will you be able to recognise my face? How dare you?" Ajit Pawar reportedly later video called the IPS officer, and threatened her with action for “disobeying the deputy chief minister of the state”.
{{/usCountry}}"Will you be able to recognise my face? How dare you?" Ajit Pawar reportedly later video called the IPS officer, and threatened her with action for “disobeying the deputy chief minister of the state”.
{{/usCountry}}The phone call was taking place on the phone of an NCP worker.
The viral clip sparked outrage, with many social media users questioning the deputy CM's actions and rebuking of Anjali Krishna. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushama Andhare also spoke in support of Anjali Krishna, saying her wish to confirm Ajit Pawar's identity was valid. "Why should she stop the action? There was nothing wrong in wanting to verify if the call was really from the deputy CM," she said.
Reacting to the controversy, the NCP clarified that Pawar did not intend to altogether stop the action, but defer it.
“Pawar is known for straight talk. He asked the woman IPS officer to defer the action as there were issues relating to law and order in the state. These things keep happening while dealing with the bureaucracy and there was nothing wrong with what he said or did,” said NCP state president Sunil Tatkare, also alleging that the clip was leaked on purpose.
Murrum is a soil used as a sub-base and filling material for road construction, and Krishna was reportedly acting against those illegally excavating it. It was earlier reported that those behind excavating the construction material have criminal records.