Raj Thackeray breaks silence on Anil Deshmukh's resignation; addresses 'bid to topple MVA'

MNS president Raj Thackeray on Tuesday commented on the resignation of former Maharastra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, following allegations of corruption by ex-Mumbai CP Param Bir Singh.

Addressing the press a day after the Bombay HC ordered the CBI to launch a probe into the allegations, Raj Thackeray said Deshmukh's actions were the reason behind his resignation. If more ministers are involved in such practices, they should resign too, he added. The MNS chief said, if there are attempts to topple a government, it is only because their ministers do something to deserve it. 

"It was Deshmukh's own deed that led to his resignation. Is it so easy to overthrow a government? Why did Param Bir Singh reveal Deshmukh's 'Rs 100 crore target' after being transferred? If we were not transferred, the minister's (alleged) actions would not have come to light. Singh should be questioned regarding the bribery charges against the Home Minister," Thackeray said. 

The High Court has now handed over the probe into the allegations against Anil Deshmukh to the CBI. Following his resignation on Tuesday, NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil has been given the charge of Home Ministry.

Raj Thackeray stated that Anil Deshmukh's resignation or the charges against him were not an important issue. The matter of importance is why did the police plant the explosives-laden vehicle outside Mukesh Ambani's house, the MNS chief said.  

"On whose instructions did the police plant the vehicle? Who kept the car with gelatin sticks near Antilia? This should be an investigation," Thackeray added. 

Antilia bomb scare, Param Bir and Anil Deshmukh

On February 25, a Green Scorpio carrying explosive material was found abandoned outside billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Antilia residence, triggering a security scare in South Mumbai. On March 17, Param Bir Singh was removed from his position as the Mumbai Police Commissioner and shunted to a "low-key" position as commandant general, Home Guards, for allegedly mishandling the investigation into the matter. 

On March 20, he (Param Bir) wrote a letter to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, accusing Deshmukh of asking the Mumbai cop Sachin Vaze to collect Rs 100 crore per month from bars, hotels, and restaurants in the city - an allegation denied by both the minister and his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). After facing severe backlash from the Opposition, and following the Bombay High Court's order of a CBI probe, Deshmukh tendered his resignation to the Chief Minister.