Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Anil Deshmukh on Wednesday claimed that in 2021, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis pressured him to file false affidavits against four Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders in an attempt to destabilise the state government at the time.
Deshmukh, who was the state home minister till April 2021, alleged that the BJP leader had sent his close aide to him three years ago.
“I was given an envelope asking to get four affidavits done,” he was quoted by The Hindu as saying. “Had I agreed, [Uddhav] Thackeray, the then Finance Minister Ajit Pawar, the then Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray and the then Transport Minister Anil Parab would have been in trouble.”
Deshmukh claimed that he was “promised freedom” from the central agencies’ investigations if he implicated the four Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders.
The NCP-SP leader also claimed that the Enforcement Directorate arrested him after he refused to comply with Fadnavis’ request. The former state home minister was arrested in November 2021 after he was booked in a corruption case by the Enforcement Directorate. He was granted bail in December 2022.
“At the right moment, I will reveal who this messenger was, who had approached me at the official residence,” he said to the newspaper.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition comprises the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and the Congress. The alliance was in power in the state in 2021. In June 2022, Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde revolted and split the party, taking away 41 MLAs and 13 MPs. This had led to the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government with Shinde becoming the chief minister with the BJP’s support. In July 2023, Ajit Pawar rebelled, leading to a split within the Nationalist Congress Party. Ajit Pawar took 41 MLAs and one of the two party MPs with him to join the BJP-Shinde alliance. He became the deputy chief minister after this.
 leader Anil Deshmukh on Wednesday claimed that in 2021, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis pressured him to file false affidavits against four Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders in an attempt to destabilise the state government at the time.){kind=link}