The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government and the Opposition BJP on Sunday entered into yet another phase of collision course after senior leader Kirit Somaiya was debarred from entering Kolhapur district and was briefly “detained” in his Mumbai residence.
Late in the night, after a tiff with police at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Somaiya boarded the Mahalaxmi Express and headed for Kolhapur. The issue snowballed into a major controversy with the BJP all out to target the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress dispensation.
"This is the government of Uddhav Thackeray and chalis chor," he said, lashing out at the government. A former MP, Somaiya, a chartered accountant with a doctorate, has been targeting MVA leaders for an alleged “scam”. Last week, he had named state Rural Development Minister Hasan Mushrif, who is a senior NCP leader and hails from Kolhapur, accusing him of money laundering and of being involved in a scam of Rs 127 crore.
He also complained against Mushrif and his family members to the Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate. On Sunday morning, Somaiya said that he would be visiting Kolhapur on Monday and announced his schedule on Twitter.
He also said that he would expose “scams” of the Thackeray family and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. After Kolhapur district collector Rahul Rekhawar issued orders banning entry of Somaiya, the Mulund police station, under which the former MP’s residence falls, sent a posse of policemen.
Leader of Opposition in Assembly Devendra Fadnavis and his counterpart in Council Pravin Darekar went into a huddle to discuss the future strategy. As soon as news of Somaiya’s detention spread, senior leaders including Darekar rushed for his help.
“Thackeray Sarkar Dadagiri, notice is for Kolhapur district no entry, but not allowing me to move out from my house. Not allowed to go for Ganesh Visarjan, Mulund Police wants to arrest me, but no warrant, no order...it's totally illegal,” he tweeted.
Somaiya told police that he wanted to go for Ganesh Visarjan and was later allowed to move out of his house. “I have taken darshans of Lord Ganesha and I would now take darshans of Ambe Mata in Kolhapur,” he said at Girgaum Chowpatty immersion site and headed to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.
As a posse of policemen stopped him, there were heated arguments, during which he said, "The orders are valid in Kolhapur...how can you stop me here...who has given you the right? Who had asked you to come? What authority do you have?" After almost 30 minutes of verbal dual, Somaiya boarded the train.
Meanwhile, when senior NCP leader Jayant Patil was asked about the developments, he said that he was not aware of the details. Meanwhile, Fadnavis said, “We strongly condemn the action against Kirit Somaiya and we would continue to protest against the MVA government.”
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