NCP ministers joining govt is no clean chit in corruption probes, claims BJP leader

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Keshav Upadhye on Thursday said the induction of some Nationalist Congress Party ministers in the Mahararshtra government did not mean the saffron party had "compromised" or given a "clean chit" to them in probes being carried out by agencies.

Ajit Pawar and eight of his colleagues joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2. While Pawar was made deputy chief minister, the others were sworn in as ministers.

Several of them have been accused of corruption and are being investigated by Central probe agencies currently.

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Speaking to reporters here, Upadhye said, "The investigation agencies are independent and they do their job. What is going to happen will happen (in these cases). The BJP has not compromised on their judicial procedures. Giving clean chit to anyone is not our work, only the court has that right."

Upadhye, who is the BJP spokesperson, said it was "good" if someone was aligning with the BJP on the issue of development.

He also said "if a new daughter-in-law comes into to a family, she learns the culture of that home", hinting that those who have been inducted into the state government will now have to follow the political decorum of the BJP.