Anil Deshmukh urges govt to make Chandiwal Commission report on bribery allegations against him public

Nashik: Former Maharashtra home minister and NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar leader Anil Deshmukh on Saturday said the findings of the Chandiwal Commission that probed bribery allegations against him must be made public.

Addressing a press conference, Deshmukh said the Eknath Shinde government was supressing the report, which was submitted two years ago, and warned he would go to court if his demand for making the findings public is not accepted.

The Bombay High Court has said the allegation of him demanding Rs 100 crore bribe was based on hearsay and was without proof, Deshmukh claimed, adding this order was upheld by the Supreme Court.

Deshmukh said the BJP made false allegations against him after he, as state home minister, took action against then Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh and other policemen, including Sachin Waze, for their alleged involvement in the Antilia bomb scare and Mansukh Hiran murder case. Deshmukh also claimed a senior opposition leader at the time sent emissaries with an affidavit after he was accused of bribery.

Deshmukh said he was told he would not be raided by the Enforcement Directorate or the Central Bureau of Investigation if he signed this affidavit. "The contents of the affidavit were shocking. I will reveal them at an appropriate time. If I had signed this affidavit, the MVA government under Uddhav Thackeray would have collapsed immediately," Deshmukh told reporters.

"Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray know the details of this affidavit. I told the emissaries (of the opposition leader) that I will remain in jail forever but will never make false allegations against anyone," Deshmukh added. Deshmukh pointed out that then commissioner Param Bir Singh never appeared before the Chandiwal Commission. "He (Singh) even submitted an affidavit in the High Court saying he had no proof against me," the NCP(SP) leader claimed. The allegation was that he took Rs 100 crore whereas the chargesheet of the ED only mentions Rs 1.71 crore, Deshmukh said.