The political upheaval kicked off in Mumbai following the bomb scare at industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s house and the mysterious death of Mansukh Hiren has now shifted its base to Delhi.
On Friday, NCP supremo and Rajya Sabha MP Sharad Pawar summoned Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh to Delhi. After the meeting, which lasted two hours, Deshmukh told reporters that he had briefed Pawar about the developments related to the case of police official Sachin Vaze, among other issues.
Deshmukh, also an NCP MLA, added that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the state Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) are probing the case and the state government is cooperating with the NIA. “Whoever is guilty will be punished. But till the time the NIA does not complete the probe, I would not be able to comment,” he said.
However, the power corridors from Mumbai to Delhi are abuzz with speculations that Deshmukh is on the line of fire after former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh was removed from his post. Deshmukh is facing the heat not just from the BJP but also the Shiv Sena over his handling of the Vaze case. A couple of names of who might replace him as state home minister are already making the rounds.
Three days earlier, Pawar had also met Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut at his official residence in Delhi. Raut described it as a courtesy meet, however, hours after the meeting, Param Bir Singh was unceremoniously transferred to the Home Guards department.
Adding to the turmoil, Congress cabinet ministers Sunil Kedar and Balasaheb Thorat landed in Delhi on Thursday night. As per sources, Thorat met Rahul Gandhi on Thursday night as Gandhi had to leave for Assam for election campaigns. Likewise, Kedar met party general secretary KC Venugopal and discussed the ongoing developments in Maharashtra.