Days after he accused Maharashtra minister of corruption, BJP's Kirit Somaiya 'barred' from entering Kolhapur

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya on Sunday claimed that he has been barred from entering Kolhapur by district authorities there citing law and order as well as security concerns following his allegations of corruption against Maharashtra minister Hasan Mushrif. A few days back, Somaiya had accused Mushrif, minister for rural development and MLA from Kagal in Kolhapur, of indulging in corruption and holding ‘benami’ entities in the name of his kin, allegations dismissed as baseless by the latter. Somaiya is scheduled to visit the western Maharashtra district on Monday. Somaiya displayed an order, dated September 19, issued by Kolhapur Collector Rahul Rekhawar that said he had been prohibited from entering the district under section 144 of IPC “in view of the threat to his life and possibility of law and order situation due to his visit”. The order also said the police would be occupied with Ganpati immersions and it would not be possible to provide security to Somaiya. Senior inspector Sunil Kamble of Navghar police station in Mumbai also issued a notice to Somaiya asking him to follow the order of the Kolhapur administration. Somaiya’s Mulund residence falls within the jurisdiction of Navghar police station. Somaiya, in a tweet, called this development the “dadagiri” of the Uddhav Thackeray government. Meanwhile, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil called the move “dictatorial” and said the Thackeray government would not be able to stifle Somaiya’s voice. He said the BJP and Somaiya would take these corruption cases to their logical end. Patil said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was trying to suppress the voice of Somaiya, who was exposing the “corrupt” ministers. “Somaiya is exposing the corrupt ministers, but the MVA is using force and trying to suppress his voice. But this suppression will not work. BJP stands strong by ‘Somaiya and his voice cannot be suppressed,” he said. The Delhi Police recently arrested the terrorists who were planning to execute subversive activities in Mumbai, he said, alleging, “While terrorists roam freely under the MVA-led government, around 150 policemen surround the house of Somaiya.”