Sanjay Nirupam accuses CM Fadnavis of 'shielding' Uddhav Thackeray's kin in land grab deals

Mumbai: Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam on Tuesday accused Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of “shielding” junior Housing Minister Ravindra Waikar, who is facing allegations of land grab, and alleged that a relative of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray was also involved in “amassing” vast land. Nirupam, who had earlier alleged that Waikar misused his office to get slum rehabilitation contracts, claimed at a press conference that he had documents in his possession to support his charge. [caption id=“attachment_2932270” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. PTI[/caption] “I have the ‘7/12’ (land title document) papers which prove that a relative of Uddhav Thackeray and Ravindra Waikar are involved in amassing vast tracts of land in Konkan region. They bought almost 110 acres of land at Korlai village in Murud taluka in Raigadh district,” Nirupam told a press conference. Uddhav Thackeray’s wife, Rashmi, and Ravindra Waikar’s wife, Manisha, had jointly purchased and co-owned a property in Raigad’s Korlai village, the documents reportedly show. Nirupam demanded that the “source of funding for purchasing the land” be probed. Stating that he is not against anybody from political class doing business or having personal ties, he said there is a “conflict of interest” involved in this matter. Nirupam had earlier accused Waikar of “usurping” 20 acres of land in city’s green lung Aarey Colony and misusing his official position to secure a slum redevelopment project contract for a firm in which he is a partner. Waikar had dismissed the allegation, saying it was part of a political game to defame him. Nirupam alleged that Fadnavis has “misled the legislature” on the issue by saying that no irregularities were found against Waikar and demanded an investigation into the issue. When contacted, Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande said, “My party did not want to offer any comment on the issue at this moment.” Last week during the Assembly, Devendra Fadnavis assured the Legislative Council of verifying the proofs against the “tainted” ministers and taking action against them, in a bid to pacify the Opposition, which has had refused to let the House function for three consecutive days over the issue. “The ministers have explained their stand on the charges levelled against them. The Leader of the House has answered as well. Yet, the Opposition is unsatisfied with our replies which were based on proofs as well,” Fadnavis said. “However, we are ready to examine all the proofs submitted by the Opposition and verify them. If any truth is found in them, we won’t hesitate to take immediate action against the concerned ministers,” he said.