Nana Patole says Maha govt to meet Guv on issues including corruption charges; Raj Bhawan denies appointment

After a delegation of BJP leaders urged the Governor to seek a report from Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on the issue related to governance and corruption, Congress leader Nana Patole said that the state government would meet Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Thursday to discuss the matter and represent its side.

Speaking to the media here, Maharashtra Congress chief Patole said that corruption allegations made by Davendra Fadnavis against State Home Minister l Deshmukh are "false" and the government's side will be presented before the Governor. He added that all these allegations were made to "defame the Thackeray government".

"The allegations made by Davendra Fadnavis against the Home Minister are false. The state government will meet Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari under the leadership of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to discuss the matter," he told reporters.

"The government's side will be presented before the Governor. This is being done to defame Maharashtra. The truth will come out soon," he said.

However, the Raj Bhawan said that no appointment has been sought by the state government and the Governor will not be available in the city on Thursday. "No appointment has been sought. Governor is out of the city tomorrow," it said.

On Wednesday, a delegation of BJP leaders, led by Fadnavis met the Governor and handed over a memorandum and said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government has lost the moral ground to remain in power.

"We requested the Governor to ask for a report from the Chief Minister on various issues related to governance and COVID-19 in the state. We also requested him to intervene in corruption-related issues," BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar had said.

Fadnavis on Tuesday had handed over purported evidence to the Union Home Secretary regarding the alleged transfer posting racket of IPS and non-IPS officers of Maharashtra Police.

He had sought time from Union Home Secretary to meet him and hand over 6.3 GB of data of call recordings and documents pertaining to the alleged transfer posting racket of IPS and non-IPS officers of Maharashtra Police.

Earlier, he had demanded Deshmukh's resignation over former Police Commissioner of Mumbai Param Bir Singh's allegations against the State Home Minister.

Singh had, on Saturday, written a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, alleging that Deshmukh had indulged in "malpractices" and asked suspended Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore every month.

( With inputs from ANI )