Ambadas Danve claimed CM Devendra Fadnavis is protecting Parth Pawar, accused in an alleged ₹300-crore Pune land scam involving undervalued government land.
He alleged the government is “leaving no stone unturned” to save Ajit and Parth Pawar, despite irregularities and unpaid stamp duty.
Danve demanded a criminal case against Parth, asserting even the BJP planned to use the case politically against its NCP ally.
Ambadas Danve, a leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), accused Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday of shielding Parth, the son of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who is at the centre of a contentious Pune land sale case worth Rs 300 crore.
He claimed that the government was making every effort to save the Pawar father-son pair in the case and insisted that Parth be treated harshly and that a case be filed against him.
Danve further stated that, to the best of his knowledge, Ajit Pawar, the leader of the ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), volunteered to resign from office when the land sale case caused a stir.
"I heard that during a meeting held at 'Varsha' (CM's official residence in Mumbai), Ajit Pawar furiously offered to step out of the government and extend outside support," he said.
Allegations of irregularities and a lack of necessary approvals have cast doubt on the sale of 40-acre government land in Pune's upmarket Mundhwa suburb for Rs 300 crore to Amadea Enterprises LLP, in which Parth Pawar is a majority partner. Its market value, according to the opposition, was Rs 1,800 crore.
In response to criticism, Ajit Pawar declared last week that the sale deed that Parth's company had completed had been revoked. Additionally, he asserted that Parth was ignorant of the government's ownership of the land the organisation had acquired.
Danve told reporters in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar that the BJP was aware of the land sale case and intended to exploit it against its ally, the NCP.
"The BJP knew about this case earlier, and they were preparing its file. If anything goes wrong in the future, Parth Pawar can be arrested in a minute...It is a criminal mentality to use such tactics to control political figures," he said.
He also alleged that the government was actively trying to protect Ajit Pawar and Parth in the case.
"The government is leaving no stone unturned to save them," he alleged.
"But Parth Pawar should not be treated leniently. He cannot be treated as a small kid. He has contested the Lok Sabha elections earlier. He should be treated as a criminal. An offence should be registered against him," the former Leader of Opposition in the state legislative council said.
The Sena (UBT) leader alleged that CM Fadnavis was intervening in the matter to protect Parth.
"Parth Pawar cannot be saved without the direct intervention of the CM in this case," he said.
Regarding the payment of stamp duty associated with the land purchase, the former MLC further claimed that the position of Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and the state revenue department were at odds.
Even though the land purchase was being cancelled, Bawankule stated on Wednesday that he would ask for an explanation regarding a notification for payment of a double stamp duty of Rs 42 crore given to a company connected to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's son Parth.
Amadea Enterprises received a notification from the Joint Inspector General of Registration on Friday requesting payment of the double stamp duty prior to the revocation of the land deed.
"Action is warranted due to unpaid stamp duty. Officers maintain the duty must be paid even to cancel the transaction," Danve said, dubbing the revenue minister's stand on the stamp duty as "completely wrong".
He also demanded the inclusion of the collector and revenue department officials in the inquiry.
With PTI inputs.
