Replying to a motion initiated by the opposition in the assembly, the CM said there was 'proof of communication' between the NCP (SP) leaders, and one of the accused in the case where three persons, including the woman, have been arrested for trying to extort money from Gore
CM Devendra Fadnavis said a thorough investigation would be conducted into the matter. Pic/X
Maharashtra Chief Minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday accused key leaders of the opposition Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) of being involved in a "conspiracy" against his cabinet colleague, Jaykumar Gore, in a case concerning a woman, reported news agency PTI. While replying to a motion initiated by the opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, Devendra Fadnavis claimed there was evidence of communication between NCP (SP) lawmaker Supriya Sule and her legislator nephew Rohit Pawar and one of the accused in a case where three individuals, including the woman, have been arrested for allegedly trying to extort money from Gore.
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Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the Home Minister of Maharashtra, assured the assembly that a thorough investigation would be conducted into the matter. Gore, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator representing the Man constituency in Satara district, is the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister. Last week, Gore had alleged that the woman who accused him of harassment attempted to extort Rs 3 crore from him to settle the issue.
According to police reports, the woman was arrested after allegedly accepting Rs 1 crore as part of the extortion attempt. The local crime branch apprehended her in Satara, PTI reported. While the opposition has called for Gore's resignation over allegations of harassment and sending objectionable photos, he has dismissed these claims, highlighting that he was acquitted of similar charges in 2019.
During his address in the Maharashtra Assembly, Devendra Fadnavis reiterated Gore’s earlier acquittal, and stated, "This was more than five years ago." According to the CM, the woman, a reporter named Tushar Kharat and a person named Anil Subedhar had been arrested for their involvement in the alleged extortion plot.
"All three conspired [against Gore] and there is evidence against them. WhatsApp [messages] and calls were exchanged between them. Unfortunately, NCP (SP) people were involved and I say this with proof," he told the House.
CM Fadnavis said a man named Prabhakarao Deshmukh spoke to all the three arrested accused more than 100 times. Videos of the alleged conspiracy against Gore were sent to him, PTI reported.
Rohit Pawar: We were told the woman and the journalist must get justice
In response to these allegations, Pawar clarified during another assembly debate that he and Sule had merely received information regarding the woman's situation and had made a few calls for justice, but did not engage in extensive communication as alleged by Fadnavis.
"...Surpiya Sule and Rohit Pawar made calls to Tushar Kharat and videos that were made against Gore were sent to these people. This will be probed," said CM Fadnavis.
Sule is the Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) from Baramati in Pune district, while Pawar represents the Karjat-Jamkhed Constituency in Ahilyanagar district in western Maharashtra in the assembly.
Reacting to the allegations, Pawar, in another debate in the assembly, said the issue came to him and Sule.
"We were told the woman and the journalist must get justice. We may have made a call or two. We certainly did not make 100-200 phone calls," Pawar clarified.
Earlier this month, Gore had moved privilege motions against Kharat, Pawar and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) Rajya Sabha lawmaker Sanjay Raut in the assembly, accusing them of maligning his image in relation to the 2017 case in which he was acquitted.
(With PTI inputs)
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