Land deal linked to Parth Pawar: Khadse seeks court-monitored probe; says Ajit must quit

Mumbai, Nov 6 (PTI) Senior NCP (SP) leader Eknath Khadse on Thursday demanded a probe under a sitting High Court judge into the alleged irregularities in a Pune land deal linked to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's son Parth Pawar.

Khadse, once part of the BJP, also said Ajit Pawar should step down from the Devendra Fadnavis government till the inquiry is completed.

According to an official, 40 acres of Mahar Vatan land belonging to the government in Pune's upmarket Mundhwa area was sold to a private firm, Amadea Enterprises LLP, in which Parth Pawar is a partner, for Rs 300 crore, and the stamp duty on it was waived. Being government land, the plot cannot be sold to a private firm, as per officials.

"The investigation in this case should be headed by a High Court judge and not by the government. Otherwise, the probe will end up like earlier cases against Ajit Pawar. My demand is that Ajit Pawar should resign till the enquiry is over. If he is not involved, he can withdraw his resignation, but he should take moral responsibility," Khadse told reporters in Mumbai.

Speaking about the Bhosari land procurement case that led to his resignation from the BJP government in June 2016 and the current allegations against Parth Pawar, Khadse said there was little in common between the two cases.

"I was asked to resign even though I had not bought the Bhosari land or paid any money. I took moral responsibility and stepped down despite having no direct role in the matter. Parth Pawar directly purchased the Pune land at a highly subsidised rate. The stamp duty waiver proposal contained misleading information, allowing the transaction to be cleared within two days," Khadse pointed out.

"The capital of Parth Pawar's company is just Rs 1 lakh, but he entered into a Rs 300-crore deal. Who gave him that money? How did he raise such huge funds? All this needs to be probed. The deal is suspicious," the former state minister added.

Khadse, who earlier handled 12 ministerial portfolios, including Minority Affairs, said he was targeted unfairly after holding just one meeting with a Muslim landowner whose land was stuck due to government regulations.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had earlier accused Ajit Pawar of a Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam, Khadse said while asking how the same government could now be expected to conduct a credible inquiry.

"If the government conducts the probe, it will lack credibility. Hence, a High Court-monitored investigation is necessary to bring out the truth," Khadse said. PTI ND BNM