Following a huge controversy over him “threatening” a woman police officer who was cracking down on illegal excavation in Maharashtra’s Solapur, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has said he was only trying to prevent an escalation in the situation on the ground and that he had no intention of “interfering” with law enforcement.
In a video that had gone viral, Mr Pawar, who is also president of the NCP, is heard speaking to Anjana Krishna, a sub-divisional police officer in Solapur’s Karmala, who was stopping the illegal excavation of ‘murrum’ – a substance used in road construction – in Kurdu village.
Ms Krishna, who is originally from Kerala and was posted to Maharashtra recently, was handed a phone by an NCP worker and told Mr Pawar was on the line. The officer did not recognise Mr Pawar’s voice and asked him to call on her cellphone.
“Mai tere upar action lunga (I will act against you),” Mr Pawar tells Ms Krishna, “Tujhe mujhe dekhna hai na. Tera number de do ya WhatsApp call karo. Mera chehra toh aapko samajh me aaega na? (You want to see me, right? Give me your number or call me on WhatsApp. You will recognise my face, right?),” he is heard telling her.
“Itna aapko daring hua hai kya (how dare you?),” he asked the officer, before video calling her and allegedly asking her to stop the action she was taking.
The opposition hit out at Mr Pawar and accused him of threatening a police officer as well as protecting “thieves” in his party.
“You are threatening an IPS officer. He (Mr Pawar) is heard saying that he will not tolerate indiscipline. Then what is this? That too, to protect the thieves of his own party. Mr Pawar, where is your sense of discipline? Illegal excavation of ‘murrum’ means defrauding the state’s treasury and you are the finance minister. Yet you did it,” Shiv Sena (Udhhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut said.