Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ wife Amruta Fadnavis took a swipe at state minister Nawab Malik’s a press conference-a-day routine that she alleged only delivered “lies”.
The Minority Development Minister in the Maharashtra cabinet has been fronting the press, almost on a daily basis, and making statements against the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which Devendra Fadnavis claims is a ploy to get the anti-drugs agency to weaken the charge sheet against the Minister’s son-in-law.
The Minister’s son-in-law Sameer Khan was arrested by the anti-drugs agency earlier this year and was later granted bail by a court.
“The spoiled Nawab – press conference after press conference, press conference after press conference, press conference convened on press conference – But every time we were told only about lies and deceit. Their goal is the same, my brother – to save their son-in-law and black money!” tweeted Amruta Fadnavis in Hindi this morning.
Malik has recently made several sensational claims against the BJP, alleging it colluded to expand the drugs business in the state.
Nawab Malik had earlier alleged that Devendra Fadnavis had appeared in a music video financed by a drug peddler who is currently in jail. The music video in question had the former Chief Minister’s wife Amruta Fadnavis as the singer. It is “laughable”, was Mr Fadnavis’s response at the time.
“The pictures were clicked during the shooting of a theme song. There are photos along with the team, not only with my wife but also with me. But, Nawab Malik consciously shared the photograph of my wife. This reflects his mentality,” the leader of opposition in the state assembly said.
Malik had earlier tweeted a picture of Jaydeep Ranade with Ms Fadnavis.
Fadnavis pointed out that the team which produced the video had clarified that Jaydeep Rana, the person listed as the “Finance Head” of the video in question, was hired by its creative team.
“Neither my wife nor I have any relations with that person. He is making allegations against the BJP based on just one picture. His son-in-law was caught with drugs, does that make NCP a party of drug suppliers?” he said.
At a press conference yesterday, Fadnavis, reiterating his earlier charge that Malik has underworld links, presented what he calls “proof” of the connection.
Fadnavis’s charge is that Nawab Malik had struck a property deal with an underworld person who was convicted in the 1993 Mumbai blasts.
“Devendra Fadnavis is trying to malign my image by connecting me to blast convicts and the underworld. They did the same by saying that drugs were recovered from my place… I will sent him a legal notice,” Malik said responding to the allegation against him.
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