News Analysis India

Tag: Nationalist Congress Party

  • Ranaut’s comments on freedom struggle: Take back actor’s Padma Shri, says NCP

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The NCP on Friday demanded the revocation of Padma Shri conferred on actor Kangana Ranaut for her controversial remarks on Independence and said she should be booked for insulting freedom fighters.

    Taking a dig, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said the actor is talking too much after an excess dose of “Malana cream”, a type of hashish that draws its name from Malana valley in Himachal Pradesh.

    “We strongly condemn this statement, which has insulted lakhs of freedom fighters, those who have sacrificed their lives. From Gandhiji to other freedom fighters who waged a long battle for freedom, all have been insulted. We demand that her Padma Shri be revoked. She should be booked for insulting freedom fighters,” Malik said.

    Ranaut, at a recent event, said the Independence India obtained in 1947 was “bheek” (alms) and that the country truly became free in 2014, a reference to the BJP coming to power at the Centre under Narendra Modi.

  • IT department attaches properties worth Rs 1,000 crore allegedly belonging to Ajit Pawar

    By ANI

    MUMBAI: Income Tax Department has attached properties allegedly belonging to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar worth Rs 1,000 crore, sources said on Tuesday.

    According to sources, one of these five properties includes Nirmal Tower situated at Nariman Point, Mumbai.

    Earlier in October, the department had also searched offices and residences of the promoters of Dynamix and DB Realty. Raids were also conducted at sugar mills funded by Dynamix and DB Realty and Pawar’s sisters’ houses and companies.

    Following these raids, the minister had called these raids “politically motivated”.

  • My fight against Wankhede’s fraud, says Nawab Malik as Uddhav government mulls probe against NCB official

    By ANI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik on Sunday reiterated his allegations against Narcotics Control Bureau’s Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede and said that he firmly stands by his statements and his fight was against fraud and not religion or caste.

    He also accused Wankhede of taking away the opportunity of the SC and added that the ‘fight’ is against the ‘fraud’ and not his religion or caste.

    “I stand by my statement that he’s (Sameer Wankhede) on post by forging SC certificate. He snatched away a poor SC’s rights. Fight against fraud not religion/caste. I urge Arun Haldar (National Commission for SC, Vice-Chairman) to maintain his post’s dignity,” the minister said while speaking to reporters here.

    He had earlier accused Wankhede of falsely framing people under NDPS Act. Notably, Wankhede was investigating the drugs-on-cruise case involving Aryan Khan, son of Shah Rukh Khan.

    “When I started (raising allegations against Sameer Wankhede), people I know told me to stop. They said that Shah Rukh Khan is being told that his son is trapped as he (Khan) speaks. My lawyer son was being brainwashed by other lawyers. He used to tell me to stop,” said Malik.

    Alleging that attempts were made to silence him, he added, “Some people said that matter relating to drugs involve money, goons and I could lose my life. Attempts were made to silence me. But I had said that we will take this to a logical end. If someone says they will kill Nawab Malik, then I’ll die the day I have to.”

    An NCB team busted an alleged drugs party on the Cordelia Cruise ship which was on its way to Goa on October 2. A total of 20 people were arrested in the case. Wankhede was given charge of investigating the case.

    Earlier on Thursday, Wankhede had moved Bombay High Court over the enquiry against him by the Maharashtra government in connection with the extortion charges levelled against him in the drugs on cruise case and demanded a probe by CBI or any central agency in the matter. The court had disposed of his petition.

    Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Social Justice Minister Dhananjay Munde while reacting to the allegations that Wankhede faked his caste certificate for the job, said on Sunday that if the department receives a formal complaint, it will investigate the matter.

    “If someone objects to the validity of the caste certificate of Sameer Wankhede and files a complaint with the social justice department, we will probe the matter,” said Dhananjay Munde, Maharashtra Social Justice Minister.

    Malik who has been levelling various allegations on Wankhede since the Mumbai drugs-on-cruise case came to the fore, accused him of using a fake birth certificate to secure a government job.

    He had alleged that Sameer Wankhede was born a Muslim but he forged documents, including a caste certificate, to pass off as a Scheduled Caste (SC) person to get recruitment under quota after clearing the UPSC exams.

    He had shared the birth certificate of Wankhede on Twitter saying “Sameer Dawood Wankhede’s fraud started from here.” Following this Wankhede said he will fight Malik legally.

    Malik had also shared a purported picture of ‘nikah’ of Wankhede with his first wife Dr Shabana Quraishi.

    “Photo of sweet couple Sameer Dawood Wankhede and Dr Shabana Qureshi,” Malik had said in a tweet along with a photograph.

    In a subsequent tweet, the minister said, “Presenting shortly the ‘Nikah Nama’ of the first marriage of ‘Sameer Dawood Wankhede’.”

  • Drugs fiasco: After Sameer Wankhede, NCP targets vigilance chief probing NCB official

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI:  After targeting Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)’s zonal director Sameer Wankhede, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) seems to be training its gun on Gyaneshwar Singh, the vigilance official leading the probe on graft charges against the NCB officer. 

    NCP spokesperson Sanjay Tatkare said Singh had earlier shielded Wankhede.

    “Vigilance chief Gyaneshwar Singh at that time not only defended NCB’s functioning but also protected Sameer Wankhede. So, can we expect the fair probe or just a farce probe against Wankhede,” Tatkare said. 

    The NCB has formed a five-member team, led by Gyaneshwar Singh, to probe the charges against Wankhede. 

    On Tuesday, NCP minister Nawab Malik said Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the “malafide actions” against Bollywood celebrities by various central agencies.

    Malik said the letter will emphasise how such actions will adversely impact the economy as Bollywood contributes 2-3% to the country’s GDP. 

    In another development, the Bombay High Court adjourned the bail hearing of Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan, the prime accused in the cruise ship drug haul case, to Wednesday. 

    ALSO READ | Witness Sail stands by allegation of extortion attempt in Aryan Khan drugs case

    Meanwhile, Wankhede’s wife Kranti Redkar on Tuesday claimed they’re getting threat calls and online abuse.   

    Team probing allegations in Mumbai today

    Earlier on Tuesday, NCP minister Nawab Malik met Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and home minister Dilip Walse Patil demanding a SIT probe on NCB’s ‘extortion racket’.

    During the meeting, Thackeray raised concerns over NCB’s mala fide raids on Bollywood personalities on flimsy charges, Malik said, adding that the CM pointed out that the film industry is a major source of jobs for thousands of people.

    The NCB team probing graft charges against zonal director Sameer Wankhede will reach Mumbai on Wednesday.

    Sources said the five-member team is likely to look into all allegations against Wankhede — extortion, planting of drugs and framing the rich including Bollywood celebrities and politicians.

    Malik also submitted a list of 26 allegations against Wankhede, which included serious charges such as planting of drugs in the houses of celebrities in order to frame them and extort money later.

    ALSO READ | BJP acts like it owns central probe agencies: Shiv Sena amid row over cruise drugs case

    He claimed that he got the list from an NCB officer who did not wish to be named. The NCP leader demanded that the charges are serious in nature and, hence, be included in the probe against Wankhede.

    Reacting to the letter, NCB’s deputy director-general Ashok Mutha Jain said the agency will take cognizance of it. Malik further alleged that Wankhede was illegally intercepting the phones of people.

    Mumbai police steps in

    The Mumbai Police on Tuesday said they have received four applications so far alleging extortion by Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede and other officials, and have launched an enquiry to verify these claims.

    One of the applications was sent by NCB independent witness Prabhakar Sail who had alleged that he had overheard K P Gosavi, another witness in the cruise ship raid case, talking to one Sam D’Souza over the phone about a demand of Rs 25 crore including Rs 8 crore for Sameer Wankhede.

    Earlier this month, a team led by Sameer Wankhede had raided a cruise ship off the coast of Mumbai and claimed to have recovered drugs.

    The team arrested Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in the case along with others.

    Sail has sent the application against NCB officers to the Mumbai Police.

    ALSO READ | Police protection given to cruise drugs case witness Prabhakar Sail: Maharashtra Home Minister

    “We have clubbed all the four applications filed against NCB officers including zonal director Sameer Wankhede. We have launched an enquiry to verify the claims,” a senior officer said.

    He said all these applications have been marked to Mata Ramabai Ambedkar Marg police station and an officer of the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police has launched the enquiry.

    However, police refused to disclose the identity and contents of the applications filed against NCB officers.

    Police will also verify claims made by Prabhakar Sail, another official said.

    Police teams are verifying locations of mobile phone numbers as well as CCTV footages of various places mentioned in Sail’s application, he said.

    Appropriate action will be taken after enquiry, he said.

    Meanwhile, Mumbai Police have also received two applications against cabinet minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik, the official said without elaborating.

    Malik has raised a string of allegations against Sameer Wankhede, an IRS officer, and also accused him of forging his documents to secure job.

    NCB Deputy Director General Mutha Ashok Jain on Tuesday said they will take necessary action into the matter.

    Malik earlier in the day said he is forwarding a letter written by ‘someone in NCB about the various illegal activities of (Sameer) Wankhede’ to the agency’s DG S N Pradhan.

    The NCP leader also said the NCB should investigate the 26 allegations in the letter claiming an ‘extortion racket’ being run within the anti-drugs agency.

    When asked about the letter, Jain told reporters outside the NCB office here that he has “received a paper on WhatsApp” and they will take “necessary action”.

    Asked about the NCB opposing in the Bombay High Court the bail plea of actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, arrested earlier this month after the agency raided a cruise ship and claimed to have seized drugs onboard, Jain said he will not speak anything about the case.

    To a query on a team of the NCB coming to Mumbai from Delhi to conduct a probe into Nawab Malik’s allegations, Jain said he also got the information about the agency’s team coming here.

    The NCB has ordered a vigilance inquiry into the claims made by a witness in the cruise drugs case of an extortion bid of Rs 25 crore by some agency officials, including its Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede, and others for letting off Aryan Khan.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Mumbai drugs haul: NCP claims plot to malign Bollywood, Uddhav government; challenges NCB to come clean

    By Express News Service

    MUMBAI:  The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Wednesday alleged that the drug bust on cruise ship off Mumbai coast was nothing but an attempt to target Bollywood. 

    NCP’s chief spokesperson Nawab Malik alleged that two ‘private persons’ were present during the NCB raid on October 2.

    Claiming that one of them had BJP links, he accused the NCB of acting at the behest of the saffron party. Malik also alleged claimed that no drug seizure was made from the alleged rave party on the cruise.

    “The drama (raid) was fake. They did not find drugs on the ship,” Malik, who is Maharashtra Minorities Affairs Minister, said.

    He claimed that S K Salvi, a private detective as per his social media profile, was seen with Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan at the NCB office while Manish Bhanushali, a BJP member, was seen escorting another accused, Arbaaz Merchant. 

    Asking the NCB to come clean on the matter, Malik said, “The entire NCB is being used by the BJP to malign the Maharashtra government and Bollywood.”

    While Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant demanded an inquiry into Malik’s allegations, the NCB rubbished them.

    “The allegations are baseless. There is no substance in them. The private citizens helped in the raid which was conducted as per procedure,” an official of the agency said. Bhanushali claimed he was not an office bearer of any political party, and just helped the NCB. He threatened to sue Malik for defamation.

    The BJP said in its reaction that had there been no evidence, the court would have granted bail to Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan in the case.

    The Narcotics Control Bureau also termed the allegations as baseless.

    The NCB has so far arrested 17 people, including Aryan Khan, after allegedly seizing drugs from the Goa-bound ship on Saturday.

    “If these two men are not officials of the NCB, then why were they escorting two high-profile people (Khan and Merchant),” he asked.

    The man seen with Merchant was in Gujarat on September 21-22 and could be connected to the seizure of about 3,000 kilograms of heroin at Mundra Port, Malik claimed, asking the BJP to come clear on this person’s credentials.

    Notably, Malik’s son-in-law Sameer Khan had been arrested by the NCB on January 13, 2021, in an alleged drug case.

    He got bail in September.

    In a statement, Deputy Inspector General of NCB Gyaneshwar Singh said “some allegations” leveled against agency were baseless, and might have been made “in retaliation against earlier legal actions” carried out by it.

    Its procedure “has been and will continue to be professionally and legally transparent and unbiased,” the statement said.

    “Individuals named as Prabhakar Sail, Kiran Gosavi, Manish Bhanushali, Aubrey Gomez, Adil Usmani, V Waigankar, Aparna Rane, Prakash Bahadur, Shoib Faiz and Muzammil Ibrahim were associated with NCB as independent witnesses (panchas), ” the agency said.

    Reacting to Malik’s allegations, local BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar said during lockdown, the Uddhav Thackeray-led state government was the first to open liquor shops, it also decided to lift prohibition in Chandrapur, and now Nawab Malik has accused the NCB of being a drug lord.

    Aryan Khan was represented by a senior criminal lawyer when he was produced in a court, Bhatkhalkar said.

    “The reason why the court granted custody of Aryan Khan to NCB even after he (this lawyer) argued for defence is because of the solid evidence against him (Khan). Had there been no evidence, he would have been granted immediate bail,” said the BJP leader.

    Malik’s allegations question the credibility of the court, he added.

    The BJP leader also asked whether Malik was targeting the NCB at the behest of his son-in-law.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • ED attaches ex-Maharashtra minister Eknath Khadse’s assets in money laundering case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has attached assets worth Rs 5.73 crore of former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Eknath Khadse and his family in a money laundering case.

    The attachment has been done in a case of “criminal misconduct by a public servant”.

    “The attached assets include immovable properties worth Rs 4.86 crore and bank balance of Rs 86.28 lakh,” the agency said in a statement.

    The ED is probing Khadse in an alleged land grab deal of 2016 in Pune.

    Khadse, 68, left the BJP to join the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) late last year and he has been questioned by the ED in this case in the past.

    The case stems from a Pune police anti-corruption bureau (ACB) FIR filed against Khadse, his wife Mandakini and son-in-law Girish Chaudhari, in April 2017.

    The agency claimed that alleged irregularities in the land deal caused a loss of Rs 61.25 crore to the exchequer “by fraudulently entering into a sale deed”.

    The plot, owned by state-run MIDC, under the scanner is located in the Haveli Taluka of Bhosari, a suburb of Pune district and it bears the survey no 52/2A/2.

    Chaudhari was also arrested by the ED in the past.

    The ED had earlier issued a statement to describe the alleged role of Chaudhari in the deal, saying “with the connivance of others, he knowingly entered into a sale deed to acquire the said land despite the land belonging to the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) to avail a compensation more than 2.5-3 times of the actual value of land”.

    “The land was registered at a much lower rate of only Rs 3.75 crore against the prevailing value of Rs 31 crore,” it had claimed.

    The ED said the probe found that the accused “claimed the source of fund to purchase the said property as loan from some companies”.

    “However, it is revealed that these funds were layered and routed through shell companies, which are either dysfunctional or struck off (from the government record books) later on,” it alleged.

    Khadse, the then state revenue minister, had resigned from the Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra Cabinet in 2016 after facing allegations regarding the same land deal and some other issues.

    It was alleged that he misused his official powers to facilitate this deal.

    The NCP leader had denied any wrongdoing saying that the state police ACB, as well as the Income Tax Department, had given him a clean chit in the matter.

  • NCP seeks sacking of Union minister Bhagawanth Khuba over celebratory firing incident in Karnataka

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Nationalist Congress Party on Thursday demanded that Union Minister of State Bhagawanth Khuba be sacked over celebratory firing during the BJP’s Jan Ashirwad Yatra in Karnataka.

    “Prime Minister Narendra Modi should immediately sack Union minister Khuba for organizing the Jan Ashirwad Yatra during which a very provocative incident of celebratory firing took place,” NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said in a statement here.

    Two of the weapons seized by the police were unlicensed, he claimed, adding that the act “posed grave threat to the lives of bystanders”.

    “Why did police not intervene in time and seize the weapons during the Yatra? How can Khuba give justification that no live rounds were fired but only fire crackers were used when the videos clearly show evidence,” the NCP spokesperson asked.

    Khuba should take responsibility for the incident and resign, he demanded. Four people were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly firing in the air to welcome Khuba to Yadgir town in Karnataka.

  • Poll strategist Prashant Kishor meets Sharad Pawar, third time in a fortnight

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Political strategist Prashant Kishor met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar here on Wednesday, a day after leaders of eight opposition parties gathered at Pawar’s residence and discussed various issues facing the country.

    According to sources, the closed-door discussions between Kishor and Pawar, held at the latter’s residence in Delhi, lasted for about an hour.

    This was their third meeting within a fortnight.

    Kishor, who was instrumental in the thumping victory of the Trinamool Congress in the West Bengal Assembly polls, had met Pawar over lunch at his residence in Mumbai on June 11.

    He again called on the NCP chief at his residence in Delhi on Monday.

    ALSO READ | Prashant Kishor, Sharad Pawar meet for second time in two weeks

    These meetings with Pawar has fuelled speculations about the possibility of opposition parties coming together to form a third front against the BJP.

    Pawar on Tuesday hosted a meeting of the leaders of eight opposition parties including the Trinamool Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the Aam Aadmi Party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal and the Left at his residence in Delhi.

    However, leaders who took part in that discussions asserted that it was a “non-political” meeting of like-minded individuals by Rashtriya Manch that was floated by former finance minister and TMC vice-president Yashwant Sinha along with others.

    ALSO READ | Wider alliance of anti-BJP parties necessary: NCP leader after Sharad Pawar-Prashant Kishor meet

    Before the opposition leaders’ meeting on Tuesday, Pawar also chaired NCP’s national executive meeting the same day and had “a detailed discussion” with his party leaders on its “future policies”, its role in the next Lok Sabha polls and current national issues.

    The opposition party leaders’ meet at Pawar’s residence was attended by National Conference’s leader Omar Abdullah, SP’s Ghanshyam Tiwari, RLD president Jayant Chaudhary, Sushil Gupta from the AAP, Binoy Viswam from the CPI, Nilotpal Basu from CPI-M and TMC vice-president Yashwant Sinha among others.

    Former Congress leader Sanjay Jha and Janata Dal-United’s (JD-U) ex-leader Pavan Verma also participated in the meeting.

    Besides politicians, several eminent personalities such as Javed Akhtar, former ambassador KC Singh and Justice (retd) A P Shah were also present at Tuesday’s meeting.

  • NCP chief Sharad Pawar leads push in Maharashtra to amend state farm laws

    Express News Service
    MUMBAI: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has taken the initiative in Maharashtra to amend the state agriculture laws to protect the interests of the farmers and ensure its approval in the upcoming monsoon session of the state Assembly scheduled on July 5.

    Pawar had called a meeting at his residence on Wednesday that was attended by state agriculture minister Dada Bhuse, senior Congress minister Balasaheb Thorat, marketing federation minister Balasaheb Patil and minister of state Vishwajit Kadam.

    “We want to amend the state agriculture law as we feel that the Union government’s agriculture laws are not in the interest of farmers. The proposed amendments will ensure the protection of Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs), redressal of grievances of farmers and protection of the interests of agriculturists during the crop trade among others. We will also insert a provision mandating license for traders which was not there in the Central laws,” Thorat told reporters.

    The state government led by Uddhav Thackeray had decided not to implement the Centre’s three farm laws because of opposition by the farmers.  Thorat said the government is committed to the development of the farmers. “Senior leader and former agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has given some suggestions for drafting the farm laws. We have studied the Central farm laws. The farmer interests are paramount to us,” Thorat said.

    Thorat compared the Modi government to East India Company. “The Modi government is like the East India Company in the pre-Independence era. A few industrialists are looting this country with the help of the government in Centre,” Thorat said. 

    “Our Prime Minister has become a slave of the big capitalists. However we will not allow our freedom to be taken away and will force the government to repeal the three farm laws,” he said.

  • Sharad Pawar to work for Opposition unity ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls: NCP

    NCP national spokesman and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik referred to the statement of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee who reportedly said that the unity of the Opposition is necessary.