The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) protested the police case against the Opposition leader in the legislative council, Pravin Darekar, under various charges in the matter related to the Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank (Mumbai Bank). The matter was raised in the Assembly on Tuesday by Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis, who accused the government of vendetta politics.Both Houses were adjourned frequently following a ruckus. Aam Aadmi Party worker Dhananjay Shinde has complained that Darekar used a bogus membership of the electoral college of a labourers’ society that voted in the Mumbai Bank elections. Darekar has worked as the elected chairman of the bank for 10 years and was a bank director before. Based on the complaint, the MRA Marg police filed an FIR on Monday under various IPC sections, including 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).

Fadnavis told the house that the charges pressed against Darekar were false because not just the BJP, but most of the MVA legislators represented the labourers’ societies. “Despite this, only Darekar has been booked because he speaks against the government. I had told the house yesterday that Darekar will be booked in a day or two. The CP has been given a list of people to be booked. The government cannot muzzle our voice,” he said, adding that he will submit to the house a list of the legislators and the labourers’ societies that they head or represent.