Anil Deshmukh, resigned hours after the Bombay High Court ordered the CBI to conduct a preliminary investigation into former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh’s allegations that Deshmukh ran an extortion wing. He was a member of the NCP in the three-party ruling coalition with the Shiv Sena and the Congress.
This was the first jolt to Maharashtra’s 16-month-old Maha Vikas Aghadi government came on Monday, when Home Minister Anil Deshmukh resigned and handed over his resignation letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Singh had previously claimed in his Supreme Court petition that Deshmukh was pressuring cops, including disgraced Sanjay Waze, to collect Rs 100 crore in monthly extortion charges from bars and restaurants.
Deshmukh’s resignation comes days after the purported meeting between Pawar and Home Minister Amit Shah in Ahmedabad.
Neither side denied the meeting.
The resignation could mean a huge political blow to Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA, with the BJP demanding the resignation of the CM following the Vaze episode. After Deshmukh resigns, Dilip Patil of the NCP is expected to become Maharashtra’s next Home Minister.