Devendra Fadnavis : In the Satara drugs case, the Chief Minister defended Eknath Shinde; said...
The frenzy of Local Body Elections is ongoing in the state. This has sparked discussions in political circles. Allegations and counter-allegations are also underway. In this, the deputy leader of the Shiv Sena Thackeray faction, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has been accused of serious allegations. A few days ago, a stock of drugs worth 145 crores was found in the Savari village located in the Mahabaleshwar area of Satara. Sushma Andhare alleged that the place where the drugs were found belongs to Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's brother, Prakash Shinde. Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis has reacted to this matter.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis interacted with the media. During this time, he commented on several political issues. Home Minister Fadnavis congratulated and praised the Maharashtra Police. He said, “The police conducted a raid and seized such a large stock of drugs in Satara, for which I first congratulate the police force. The business that was running has been exposed by the police. The attempt to deliberately bring Eknath Shinde's name into this matter is wrong, inappropriate, and condemnable. So far, the evidence that has come forward does not show any connection of Eknath Shinde's family. We are conducting a full investigation into this matter,” said Devendra Fadnavis.
The Chief Minister further responded to the allegations made against Eknath Shinde. Devendra Fadnavis said, "In this drug case, there is a political and deliberate attempt to associate Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's name, which is extremely wrong and condemnable. According to the investigation conducted so far and the evidence that has come forward, there is no connection of Deputy Chief Minister Shinde or his family with this case. While stating that Shinde is not remotely connected to this case, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis defended that there is an extremely wrong attempt to associate Shinde with this case.
Along with this, the resignation of NCP Ajit Pawar group's leader Manikrao Kokate has been taken. This decision was made after an arrest warrant was issued in the apartment scam case. In one year, two ministers from NCP have lost their positions. Regarding this, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “The resignation of Manikrao Kokate from the ministerial post has been approved. The responsibility of his departments has now been given to Ajit Pawar,” said Fadnavis. Beyond this, Devendra Fadnavis did not comment on Kokate's MLA position, resignation, or arrest warrant.