Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP Chief Ajit Pawar.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: As Ajit Pawar got entangled into a major mess after his son got embroiled in a major controversy involving a land deal in Pune, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi mounted a major offensive against the Devendra Fadnavis-headed Maha Yuti dispensation and sought the dismissal of the Deputy Chief Minister.
Pune-based RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar said: “The Mundhwa deal was not just an irregular transaction — it was a serious breach of law and public trust. Considering the gravity of the case, the government has suspended the Sub-Registrar involved. While registering the deed worth Rs 300 crore, serious irregularities were committed, resulting in stamp duty loss of over Rs 6 crore and clear harm to public interest. Shockingly, the 7/12 extract itself mentioned “Government of Mumbai” as the holder, yet the registration went ahead without mandatory verification or NOC. The government has now officially confirmed these findings. Truth is finally surfacing.”
Its Meva-bhau regime: Sena UBT
Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT)’s senior leader Ambadas Danve, who is a former Leader of the Opposition in Legislative Council, flagged the issue.
“This is happening in the regime of Meva-bhau,” he said targeting Fadnavis, who is known as Deva-bhau.
“Firstly, Rs 1,800 crore worth land was purchased for Rs 300 crore with a stamp duty of Rs 500. This journey didn't stop there; the company has also started preparations to build an IT park and data center right in Koregaon Park in Pune, where real estate prices are sky-high. How was this possible for a company with a capital of 1 lakh to purchase a land, especially when it's Mahar watan land? Parth Pawar should now come forward and explain this, so that other young people can also understand the secret of their success,” asked Danve.
“Secondly, see how promptly the government machinery acted.. Amazing! On April 22, 2025, Amedia Company passed a resolution to build an IT park. Surprisingly, within just 48 hours, the Directorate of Industries waived the stamp duty on this project. Under which rule did the Directorate of Industries accept the proposal of a company submitting such a proposal without any experience and waive the stamp duty? And to top it all, this entire transaction happened in 27 days, and the stamp duty required for this 40-acre land deal is just Rs 500,” he said.
Dismiss Ajit Pawar: Congress
State Congress Chief Harshavardhan Sapkal said that Fadnavis should show the courage to dismiss Ajit Pawar. “Parth Pawar purchased this land worth thousands of crores of rupees for a mere Rs 300 crore, a pittance, and paid a mere Rs 500 in stamp duty. How did this land, owned by the government, even become a transaction?,” he asked.
“Ajit Pawar, who threatened farmers on the issue of farmer loan waivers by saying, why do you demand everything for free? Just do a little work? Stamp duty of Rs 21 crore has been waived on this very land deal. This entire matter is a major scam and Fadnavis owes an explanation,” he said.
Munna badnam hua: MNS
Lashing out at Maha Yuti, former MNS MLA Raju Patil commented “munna badnam hua” and said that there is a big competition going on right now to commit scams in the government. “The mindset has become: commit scams freely, the Delhi folks will handle it. What will happen at most? The scam will get caught, right? If caught, just back out, meaning no inquiry into the scam will happen either. A recent example of this is the 4000 crore tender scam in the MMRDA department's Thane-Borivali tunnel that got caught; re-tenders were called for that work, but no inquiry into how the scam happened or who did it. Pune's 300 crore Jain boarding scam came to light, it was canceled afterward, and the matter ended. No inquiry into that case either. Now the Pune land scam is coming to the fore. Nothing will happen in this case either,” he said.
I have faith in Parth Pawar: Supriya Sule
However, in a surprising statement, NCP Working President and Baramati MP Supriya Sule said that the issue involves a lot of corruption. “I have full faith in Parth Pawar,” she said about her nephew. “The Pune Collector should be able to answer. The Tehsildar said he has not signed (the papers, however, a transfer has happened. There seems to be confusion,” she added.