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Correspondent

21 August 2024 at 10:20:16 am

Holy Contracts

The Kumbh Mela is supposed to be a celebration of faith. But in Maharashtra, it is beginning to look rather too much like an opportunity for fraudsters. For the BJP-led Mahayuti, the alleged Kumbh Mela scam is a potentially damaging test of political credibility and an unwelcome headache for Minister Girish Mahajan. The arrest of Tanay Mahajan, described as a distant relative of the Minister, in an alleged racket involving fake Kumbh work orders has handed the Opposition an opportunity it...

Holy Contracts

The Kumbh Mela is supposed to be a celebration of faith. But in Maharashtra, it is beginning to look rather too much like an opportunity for fraudsters. For the BJP-led Mahayuti, the alleged Kumbh Mela scam is a potentially damaging test of political credibility and an unwelcome headache for Minister Girish Mahajan. The arrest of Tanay Mahajan, described as a distant relative of the Minister, in an alleged racket involving fake Kumbh work orders has handed the Opposition an opportunity it will be eager to exploit. The scale of the alleged fraud makes the matter particularly serious. Police say fake work orders were shown for projects worth around Rs. 591 crore and that those who came forward were allegedly cheated of Rs. 305 crore. One complainant alone is said to have lost Rs. 2.17 crore. The documents allegedly bore the Government of India emblem and the name of the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela Authority. Mahajan has sought to distance himself from the accused, calling him a “gone case” and saying criminal cases had previously been registered against him. He has also urged strict action against everyone involved. But politically, the Minister’s proximity to one of the accused makes the episode difficult to quarantine as an ordinary fraud case. The Fadnavis government’s larger problem is one of perception. The Kumbh Mela is one of Maharashtra’s biggest public undertakings, involving enormous expenditure, infrastructure contracts and administrative machinery. If fake work orders worth hundreds of crores could circulate convincingly enough to extract money from contractors, questions will inevitably be asked about the safeguards surrounding the real tendering process. Mahajan’s clarification that Kumbh tenders are processed online, and that genuine work orders are not issued in the names of individual officials or accompanied by unauthorised QR codes, raises the obvious question: why did the alleged racket find enough room to operate in the first place? The timing makes the political challenge sharper. The Kumbh controversy comes on the heels of allegations surrounding the recent theft of Ram Mandir donations in a BJP-ruled state. A succession of controversies can create a narrative about institutional laxity on part of the ruling party at the Centre and in Maharashtra. The answer must be radical transparency. The police must follow the money, identify everyone who prepared or circulated the forged documents and establish whether anyone inside the system enabled the racket. The government should simultaneously publish a clear account of Kumbh tenders, safeguards and authorisations. The Kumbh should be an exercise in public administration, not an invitation to private profiteering. If the Mahayuti wants to prevent this alleged scam from snowballing into a larger political embarrassment, it must demonstrate that the state and not its middlemen, is in charge.

Knives out in legislature

Updated: Mar 21, 2025

Disha Salian

Mumbai: Death of celebrity manager Disha Salian in 2020 once again rocked the Maharashtra legislature on Thursday. While cabinet ministers Nitesh Rane and Shambhuraj Desai demanded that Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray be arrested in the case, BJP MLA Amit Satam in the assembly and another BJP member Chitra Wagh in the council demanded that the report of SIT to probe Salian’s death be made public.


Incidentally, amidst repeated disruptions in both the houses, some members from the treasury benches were seen speaking in favour of Aditya Thackeray, while Shiv Sena (UBT) members like Adv Anil Parab were seen supporting the BJP members’ demand that the report of the SIT probe be made public. In addition, there were allegations and counter allegations and personal accusations among members from the treasury and opposition benches which led to heated debate on occasions.


The opposition termed the attempts from the treasury benches to link Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray’s name in the case, as a ‘conspiracy’.


“I think this matter has gone to the court. We have no idea what he (Disha’s father) has said, but Aaditya Thackeray is a mature leader, a young leader. The Bharatiya Janata Party is conspiring to defame him by putting pressure on him. We don’t need to answer to this conspiracy. The court will answer,” Ambadas Danve said.


Earlier in the day, when the house gathered for the business, Minister of State for Home appraised the assembly of the status in this case. “SIT has been formed to probe in the case. Their report has not been received as yet. However, the government shall act according to directives from the court,” the minister told the house.


Another BJP minister Nitesh Rane, however, said that since Satish Salian has levelled allegations against an MVA minister, that leader be treated like a common person and that everybody should be treated equally before the law. Shiv Sena minister Shambhuraj Desai too supported the demand. “Since the allegations are grave, the person in question should be immediately arrested and the case be investigated,” he said.


Later, while speaking to media in the legislature premises, Rane asked Uddhav Thackeray to come clean on the issue. “If they say that we are politicizing the issue, Uddhav Thackeray should also tell the people why he had called, not just once but twice, to the then union minister Narayan Rane urging him to save his son?” Rane said.


He also accused the opposition of shying away from coming clean on the issue. “If they feel that we are not telling the truth, they should say so in the house. But they are shying away from doing so. Bhaskar Jadhav, who is always aggressive, was nowhere to be seen when this issue came up in the house. Sunil Prabhu too escaped the house under the pretext of a phone call. I challenge them to say that whatever I said on the issue is wrong,” Rane said.


He also said that Aditya Thackeray should resign on moral grounds till his name is cleared in the case.


BJP MLA Amit Satam demanded that the details of the SIT probe be made public so that the people would know if the probe is headed in right direction.


Interestingly, while the ruling parties were targeting the opposition in the case, senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar surprised all with his unexpected support to Thackerays. “I do not have any evidences in the case. But if her father has made any fresh allegations that needs to be investigated thoroughly. The assembly can discuss the issue at length tomorrow. In the meanwhile, members like Rane, who seem to have some evidences in the case should hand them over to the investigating agencies and help the probe,” he told the house.


Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Gaikwad and Sheetal Mhatre too toed the line and demanded that more and more evidences should come forth.


Similarly, when members of treasury benches were pushing for revealing the details of the probe till date to the public, Shiv Sena (UBT) member Anil Parab supported the demand. “Doing that shall conclusively prove the innocence of Aditya Thackeray,” he said.

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