Mumbai Mar 23 PTI Latching onto suspension of DCP Saurabh Tripathi accused of threatening angadiyas using the I-T departments name Maharashtra BJP MLA Ashish Shelar on Wednesday wondered whether a conspiracy was being hatched in the state administrative services to defame the central agencySpeaking in the Assembly the former Maharashtra minister asked whether such a conspiracy was being hatched in the states administrative services with someones blessingReplying Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil said he will seek information in this regard and take action if there is any truth in itThe Maharashtra government on Tuesday suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police DCP Tripathi who is a wanted accused in an extortion case registered by the Mumbai police following a complaint by angadiyas or tradition couriers who provide money transfer service to businessmen for a commissionAs per the complaint lodged by angadiyas the accused officials had allegedly extorted money from them on several occasions in December by threatening to tip-off the Income Tax department about their cash movements and business activitiesWhat is the charge against him Tripathi He threatened angadiyas saying that the Income Tax department will raid them take action against themIf police officials are going to extort money from people taking the Income Tax departments name and spreading lies the question is whether any conspiracy was being hatched in the states administrative services to defame central agencies with someones blessings Shelar askedThe opposition legislator said it will not behoove Maharashtra and the country if any such conspiracy is being hatchedThe BJP leader however also said the governments action of suspending Tripathi was appropriateOn his part Walse Patil said he has taken note of the issue Shelar has raised in the HouseI will definitely take information in this regard and take action if any truth is found in it the minister assured PTI ENM RSY RSY

Mumbai Feb 26 PTI Maharashtra BJP on Saturday continued to target the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA government in the state over the arrest of its minister Nawab Malik and sought to know why Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was not asking him to step down Talking to reporters in Pune Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said that in the past some other ministers in the MVA government had resigned after facing allegations so Malik should follow suit Malik has been booked under Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA and has been arrested If a government employee faces criminal charges and is arrested then that person is not only suspended but also loses job So why doesnt the same rule apply to Malik and why his boss is not seeking his resignation he asked By not taking his resignation the government is protecting an accused and the BJP will never tolerate it he said Malik state Minority Affairs Minister and also chief spokesperson of the ruling Nationalist Congress Party NCP was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate ED on Wednesday in a money laundering probe linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides He was remanded in the ED custody till March 3 On Friday he was admitted to a state-run hospital in Mumbai after he complained of stomach pain Following his arrest MVA leaders have ruled out the possibility of Maliks resignation Patil said Our one-day agitation to seek Maliks resignation was a warning to the state government But going by its stand on the issue it seems we will have to continue our protest over the demand Why are there different set of rules for ministers of NCP and Shiv Sena when they faced serious allegations he asked Earlier Sanjay Rathod and Anil Deshmukh were asked to step down as ministers after they faced different allegations But why Maliks resignation is not being sought despite his arrest he asked In February last year Rathod had resigned after his name was linked to a womans death while Deshmukh had quit in April following allegations of corruption levelled by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh Deshmukh was later arrested by the ED PTI ND NP NP

Mumbai Oct 30 PTI The Maharashtra BJP on Saturday announced that it will be holding a state-wide agitation on Monday to protest the state governments failure to address the woes of farmers who suffered losses due to excess rainfall Speaking to reporters here the partys state chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhye said BJP leaders have decided to register their protest by wearing black bands on their shoulders in public places The party has decided to register its protest on Monday by sporting black bands in public places Local leaders will submit a memorandum of demands at concerned government offices Upadhye said The state BJP is appalled at the MVA governments insensitivity as lakhs of farmers have lost their crops soil and livelihood due to excess rainfall he said The damage assessment is yet to be completed in several villages and districts Farmers have not yet received their compensation It seems this government is more interested in the son of a Hindi film actor than the plight of farmers the BJP leader said The state sugar commissionerates decision is also against farmers as electricity expenses will be deducted from the procurement money paid by sugar mills to cultivators bringing down their earnings further PTI ND ARU ARU