Mumbai: The special permission accorded to the Wadhawan family, members of which are out on bail in the PMC bank scam to travel during lockdown has stirred a hornet's nest in Maharashtra politics.
The opposition BJP has targeted Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for his silence on this issue, while the Congress and NCP have targeted them back for their baseless allegations. Amitabh Gupta, senior IPS officer who is posted in Home Department as Principal Secretary had given special permission to Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, the promoters of scam-hit Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) and other 21 people to their farm house in Mahabaleshwar. They have been detained after locals took objection.
“Is there no lockdown for mighty & rich in Maharashtra? How a family can spend holidays in Mahabaleshwar with official permission from police? It is not possible that a senior IPS officer would commit such gross mistake on his own. With whose order or blessings was this done? Why Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is silent on this?,” asked Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis.
Whereas, the ruling Congress- NCP is patting it's back for the swift action that they have taken on Principal Secretary Amitabh Gupta after his errant behavior. Additionally, the Congress has pointed a finger at the BJP's financial interests with the Wadhawans. “Despite issuance of look out notice by CBI for Wadhwan family, why they are not being arrested by CBI which works under Narendra Modi government,” asked Congress Spokesperson and General Secretary Sachin Sawant.
“Wadhwan group has been a prominent donor of the BJP. The RKW Developers, Skill Realtors, Darshan Developers are the companies floated by Wadhwan family owned Diwan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL). These companies have donated Rs. 20 crores to BJP. As these companies have not earned profits in last three financial years, as per the rule they can not donate to any political party. ,”“The possibility of big leader from BJP asking Amitabh Gupta to issue the letter to Wadhawan can not be ruled out. It is to be noted that Gupta was appointed in Home Department by Devendra Fadanvis during his tenure as CM,” he added.
