Fadnavis Responds to Corruption Allegations Amid Local Elections in Maharashtra
Fadnavis Addresses Corruption Claims
In response to repeated allegations of corruption made by Ajit Pawar, the leader of the Nationalist Congress Party, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated that the Deputy Chief Minister has failed to uphold the commitment to a cordial election process. Speaking to reporters in Pune, Fadnavis referred to an agreement among the Mahayuti parties, which stipulated that personal attacks would be avoided. Despite being part of the ruling coalition in the state, Ajit Pawar has chosen to contest the local elections in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad separately, aligning with his uncle Sharad Pawar's NCP instead of the BJP and Shiv Sena.
Ajit Pawar, the guardian minister of Pune district, informed a news agency that residents are facing issues related to the tanker mafia. In an interview, he claimed that various departments within the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) have outstanding bills totaling around ₹4,000 crores, with numerous instances of cost manipulation, including a ₹70 lakh road project inflated to ₹7 crores and the cost of the corporation's software skyrocketing from ₹12 crores to ₹120 crores.
In response, Fadnavis asserted to reporters in Pune that he is a man of his word. He emphasized that when it was decided not to contest elections in alliance with the NCP in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, it was also agreed that the competition would be amicable, with no personal attacks. He maintained that they honored that commitment until the end, unlike Ajit Pawar, whose motives remain unclear to him.
Earlier, Ajit Pawar stated, "Since the elections began, I have held press conferences to highlight the issues. Pimpri-Chinchwad was once a prosperous corporation, yet they had to issue bonds. Approximately ₹4,000 crores in bills are pending across various departments, and corruption is on the rise. I have provided examples, such as a bridge costing ₹70 lakhs being inflated to ₹7 crores. They planned to cut down trees and charged ₹7 crores for it, but not a single tree was cut. The software that was supposed to cost ₹12 crores ended up costing ₹120 crores." When asked about the alliance with the NCP post-elections, Fadnavis remarked that the Mahayuti has been working with the opposition.