Maharashtra: BJP opposes Nawab Malik entry in govt as he attends Nagpur winter session

Mumbai: After day-long charges, counter-charges and confusion, the BJP vehemently opposed the entry of Nawab Malik into the Eknath Shinde-led Maha Yuti ruling dispensation after the NCP MLA quietly flew to Nagpur for the winter session of Maharashtra legislature and surprisingly sat on the Treasury benches.

The issue triggered a political issue between the two Deputy Chief Ministers - Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, who is the President of NCP’s rebel faction.

Shinde, the chief leader of Shiv Sena and head of the government, however, preferred to stay away from the issue.

Amid the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi charge, the development fueled cracks within the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP government and it was evident that the three parties were not on the same page on several issues.

Fadnavis, the BJP’s trouble-shooter and architect of Maha Yuti, shot off a letter to Ajit Pawar opposing the entry of Malik, the MLA from Anushakti Nagar in Mumbai, who faces previous charges and is currently on bail by the Supreme Court.

Malik quietly flew to Nagpur to attend the crucial winter session - and joined the proceedings after more than one-and-a-half-years.

Malik (64) was arrested on 23 February, 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 undergoing jail term 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 11 August, 2023, the Supreme Court granted him bail on medical grounds and three days later, he was discharged from the hospital, where he was admitted.

Malik, a veteran politician and former minister, however, has not yet made any statement on which side he belongs - the Sharad Pawar-Supriya Sule-led parent group or the Ajit Pawar-Praful Patel-led faction.

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.”

Leader of the Opposition in the Council Ambadad Danve said: “A member is sitting in the Assembly. The Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister have been saying that they will never rub a shoulder with one who is a traitor. The same person who was branded as a traitor could be seen rubbing shoulders with ruling party legislators by sitting in the treasury benches”.

However, Fadnavis countered by saying that why the then Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government did not take his resignation. “Why did the government not take the resignation of Malik when he was in jail, are now asking for our stand,” he said.

In an open-ended post, NCP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said: "My dear Nawab Sir….You always taught me to fight against injustice and wrong. While debating on TV, you taught me to speak intelligently and intelligently against my opponents. I will always follow your teachings and fight against the same opponents. Thank you, Sir from the bottom of my heart…Yours, Clyde.”

It may be mentioned, Malik had launched a barrage of charges against IRS officer Sameer Wankhede, the then Regional Director of NCB, over his raid and arrest of Aryan Khan in Cordelia drugs-on-cruise case.