At a time when Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is building BJP's campaign for civic polls on a transparency plank and his clean image, Shiv Sena today claimed he was indicted by a probe panel for "corruption" during his stint as Nagpur mayor in 2001.
The BJP, however, has countered the charge, saying the Bombay High Court and even the Supreme Court had not found any substance in the matter and that the allegations were part of a "tacit understanding" between Shiv Sena and Congress.
Addressing reporters here, Sena MLC Anil Parab claimed various contracts were awarded to specific contractors only by "circumventing" the Standing Committee of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) during Fadnavis' Mayoral stint in 1997-2001.
Parab said though the Chief Minister was urging voters to vote for the BJP in his name, there was a "massive corruption" during his tenure as the mayor.
"The government-appointed Nand Lal committee had submitted its report on February 27, 2001. The report contains proofs of irregularities committed by then NMC mayor and current Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis," Parab claimed.
He claimed that when Fadnavis was the mayor, some members of the standing committee "negotiated with contractors directly".
"Contracts were awarded to select contractors without inviting tenders... Corruption took place during the tenures of four former mayors namely Rajiv Gholar, Kalpana Pandey, Vasundhara Masurkar and Devendra Fadnavis," the Sena leader said.
He said criminal cases were filed against 99 corporators and the four mayors after the probe. "During the scam period, no meeting of the standing committee was held for 15 months," he said.
In September 2001, the then Congress-NCP government had dissolved the NMC, then led by the BJP-Lok Manch coalition, and disqualified all the 119 corporators after the Nand Lal committee exposed the corruption.
Sena's attack came at a time when the campaigning for the civic polls, including the high-stake Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), is drawing to close.
Ten municipal corporations, including BMC, are going to polls on February 21 and counting of votes is scheduled two days after. Sena and BJP, who are alliance partners in state and central governments, are contesting separately.
During canvassing, Fadnavis has been claiming Sena decided to go solo as the BJP's push for "transparent administration" was not acceptable to the Uddhav Thackeray-led party. However, Sena's contention is that a disagreement over allocation of seats for BMC polls led to the break-up of alliance.
Meanwhile, taking a dig at CM for his remarks that Sena has brought Mumbai at par with Patna, Sena MP Sanjay Raut said the number of criminal incidents being reported in Fadnvais' hometown Nagpur is more than in the Bihar capital.
Refuting the Sena's claims, BJP spokesperson Madhav
Bhandari said it seems Congress gave only selective information to Sena on this matter.
"The allegations against Fadnavis are a proof of the tacit understanding between the Sena and the Congress. The Nand Lal committee was set up during the tenure of late chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh as the Congress wanted to act in vengeance against the only civic body where BJP was in power," he said.
After scrutiny of the report, the HC found no substance in the allegations and hence no FIR was lodged, he said, adding even the apex court had rejected the government's contention.
"Both the courts had virtually pulled up the Congress-led state government. Though Congress gave information to Sena about the (Nand Lal) report, it did not share the information that corruption charges were rejected by the courts," the BJP leader said.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Sanjay Raut said Fadnavis had "insulted" Patna through his remarks.
"Fadnavis' hometown and the second capital of Maharashtra has more criminal activities than in Patna," he alleged.
Despite Nagpur being the headquarters of RSS, the city is not safe, he said, adding Nagpur lacks healthcare and cleanliness facilities.
Addressing a public rally in Mumbai last week, Fadnavis had said, "In its 19-year rule in the BMC, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party has brought Mumbai at par with Patna, in absence of transparency and accountability."
Raut said, "The CM and BJP should first focus on improving the facilities in Nagpur before talking about Mumbai and Pune."
He reiterated that former Congress prime ministers had contributed in development of the country's economy.
"Former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Narasimha Rao strengthened the country's economy whose fruits are being enjoyed by the present government," he added.
Raut further said the Vidarbha issue will play a crucial role in the 2019 Assembly elections.
While Sena is against creation of separate Vidarbha state, the BJP is in favour of the demand being raised intermittently by pro-Vidarbha groups.
