In what could snowball into a Centre vs State issue, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday raised questions over the midnight meeting between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad.
Maharashtra's home minister Anil Deshmukh of the NCP raised a question as to how the religious congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz was allowed when it was just a stone-throw distance away form the Nizamuddin police station.
Deshmukh's statement comes just a couple of days after NCP founder-president Sharad Pawar questioned - who gave permission for the meeting amid heightened awareness vis-a-vis COVID-19?
Deshmukh wanted to know what transpired during the Doval-Maulana meeting. "Who sent NSA Doval to Markaz and why? Is this the job of NSA or Delhi Police Commissioner," Deshmukh said.
He also wanted to know why Doval and Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava have so far not spoken on this issue.
"Where did Maulana Saad abscond after meeting Doval?... where is he (Maulana Saad) now? Who is related to them (Tablighi Jamaat)," Deshmukh asked.
He also said that on March 15-16, the Tablighi Jamaat was to hold a grand congregation at Vasai near Mumbai, in which over 50,000 people were to attend, but Maharashtra government withdrew the permission.
Published 08 April 2020, 14:59 IST