Nawab Malik mum on whether he is with Sharad or Ajit Pawar

Mumbai: NCP MLA Nawab Malik, in the focal point of a massive controversy, refused to spell out his stand whether he is with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP parent group or the Ajit Pawar-headed rebel faction.

Malik, who is on bail from the Supreme Court, on health grounds, refused to comment to the media as he entered the Vidhan Bhavan complex in Nagpur on Friday.

In a surprising development on Thursday, Malik sat in the Treasury benches.

In the evening, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of BJP, who is also the state Home Minister, shot off a letter to NCP’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar objecting to his entry to Maha Yuti.

On the other hand, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has backed Fadnavis.

On being asked about Malik, Ajit Pawar, in his first comments said: “Nawab Malik is coming to the House after a long time and a lot of political developments have taken place. He has to specify his stand first…only then I would be able to comment on anything."

On the letter from Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar said: “It is a letter to me…I will decide what to do…I will do the needful but will not respond to the media on this.”

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut lashed out at the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP government.

“The charges that (NCP National Working President) Praful Patel of (Ajit Pawar faction) faces are similar to that of Malik…there are others like Pratap Sarnaik, Bhawana Gavali (of Shiv Sena), you all know the charges that Hasan Mushrif (of NCP) faces) and Shiv Sena MLA and minister Sanjay Rathod,” he said.

Malik (64) was arrested on February 23, 2022 by the Enforcement Directorate - under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) - in connection with a money laundering probe linked to the activities of Pakistan-based underworld don and the mastermind of 1993 serial blasts Dawood Ibrahim. According to the ED charges, Malik had brought the Goawala Building properly in Kurla.

The power of attorney of the property was in the name of Sardar Shah Wali Khan, who is behind bars in the 1993 blasts case and Salim Patel, the frontman of Dawood Ibrahim’s sister late Hasina Parkar.

The ED case followed an FIR by the NIA in the Dawood Ibrahim-money laundering case.

On August 11, 2023, the Supreme Court granted him bail on medical grounds and three days later, he was discharged from the hospital, where he was admitted.

In the letter to Ajit Pawar, Fadnavis said: "Former minister and MLA Nawab Malik came to the legislature area today and participated in the work. He has that right as a member of the Assembly. I make it clear at the outset that we have absolutely no personal enmity or grudge against them….But, in view of the kind of allegations against him, we are of the opinion that it would not be right to take him into the Maha Yuti”.

Fadnavis, also the state’s Home Minister, said: “Power comes and goes. But country is more important than power. He is currently out on bail only on medical grounds. If the charges against him are not proved, we must welcome him. However, we are of the clear opinion that it will not be right to make him a part of the Mahayuti while there are such allegations. Admittedly, it is entirely your right to choose whom to take in your party. However, every component party has to think that it will not hinder the Maha Yuti, so we are against this.”