Maharashtra Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad slammed the former additional director general of police (intelligence) Rashmi Shukla and termed her as a BJP agent. Awhad is the second minister after Minority Affair Minister Nawab Malik to level this charge.
Awhad revealed that Shukla had cried and tendered an apology to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, and additional chief secretary (home) for illegally tapping the phones to find out the alleged police transfer racket.
"The government decided to forgive in the larger humanitarian point of view but now it has come to the fore that she has breached the provisions of Official Secret Act, 1923. The government should initiate action against her,’’ he said. He added that Shulka had not only discredited the police force but also the state government.
"Permission was sought for tapping the phones of a certain set of people, however, the numbers of a completely different set of people were tapped." He added that Shukla had misused her authority in tapping phones and that there was a strong demand from the cabinet to pursue action against her.
Awhad alleged that Shukla had a 'bad habit' of tapping phones illegally and had intercepted the phones of political leaders during the formation of the three-party state government as well.
She allegedly also exerted pressure on an independent MLA Rajendra Yedravkar from Shirol in the Kolhapur district to support BJP after the assembly election and not the Maha Vikas Aghadi. Yedravkar has also confirmed that Shukla had approached him. However, he extended his support to the MVA and now the minister of state for health.
