Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Ajit Pawar on Thursday claimed the ruling party legislators were disrupting House proceedings and creating drama over the case of death of Disha Salian, the former manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Talking to reporters in the state legislature complex, Pawar further claimed the ruling dispensation was not allowing the Opposition to speak in the House in a bid to "shield" Chief Minister Eknath Shinde amid a row over a land allotment decision by him as the urban development minister in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said in the state Assembly that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) will be formed to conduct a probe Salian's death. According to police, Salian (28) allegedly committed suicide by jumping from a high-rise building in Malad area of Mumbai on June 8, 2020. Rajput, 34, was found hanging at his apartment in Mumbai's Bandra area on June 14, 2020.
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Leaders from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had demanded a probe into Salian's death. Pawar said the ruling party was not letting the opposition speak in the Assembly, which was adjourned thrice on Thursday. "The Opposition is making efforts for proper working of the House and raising important issues. However, the ruling party legislators are disrupting the proceedings and creating drama over Disha Salian death case," he claimed.
The case (of Salian's death) was investigated by the CBI, Pawar said and asked whether the ruling party does not have trust in the central probe agency. "The ruling party legislators are creating chaos in the House as they are scared that the opposition will corner the chief minister on Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) land issue," he said.
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The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court last week ordered status quo on a decision taken by Shinde, when he was the urban development minister in the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, over the allotment of land meant for slum dwellers to private persons.
Danve on Tuesday said the NIT, which comes under the urban development department, had reserved a plot measuring 4.5 acres in the city for the construction of houses for rehabilitation of slum dwellers. "However, Shinde had issued an order to hand over the land parcel to 16 persons at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore. The current cost of the land is Rs 83 crore," he had claimed. The CM had denied any wrongdoing and rejected the demand to quit.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Bhaskar Jadhav claimed the ruling party was behaving "irresponsibly". They should let the House run, but they are creating chaos to save CM Shinde, he said.
