Mumbai, Nov 14 (PTI) Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday claimed that the Justice Kailash Chandiwal commission did not find anything incriminating against him after a thorough inquiry into corruption allegations.
A day before, BJP leaders had targeted the NCP (SP) leader following Justice (retd) Chandiwal’s statements in a TV interview.
“Justice Chandiwal conducted a thorough investigation into the allegations against me for more than 11 months, recording numerous testimonies and compiling a 1,400-page report. Nowhere in this report have I been found guilty,” Deshmukh said in a statement.
“Despite six summons, former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh, who made the initial allegations, failed to appear before the commission. Only after an arrest warrant was issued did Singh submit an affidavit acknowledging he had no evidence,” Deshmukh added.
On Wednesday, deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis had quoted the judge as saying in the TV interview that he had not given any clean chit to Deshmukh, and there was evidence but it was not placed before him.
Meanwhile, when asked by reporters about the present Maharashtra government not making the findings of the commission public, Fadnavis on Thursday said, “After the court case, the commission’s report became irrelevant.” Deshmukh in his statement pointed out that he has been pressing the government for the past 18 months to release the report to the public, even filing a petition in court for its disclosure.
The Chandiwal commission was set up by the then Uddhav Thackeray-led government after Param Bir Singh alleged that Deshmukh had directed police officer (later dismissed) Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore monthly from bars and restaurants in Mumbai. PTI ND KRK
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