Param Bir Singh's letter: NCP leaders, Sanjay Raut meet Sharad Pawar

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar state unit NCP chief Jayant Patil and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut separately met NCP supremo Sharad Pawar in Delhi on Sunday evening in view of former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singhs allegations of corruption against state Home Minister Anil DeshmukhThe meetings took place hours after Pawar told reporters that Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will decide the fate of Deshmukh an NCP leader amid speculation in state political circles that Maharashtra may soon have a new home ministerSingh has claimed Deshmukh wanted police officers to collect Rs 100 crore monthly from bars and hotels in MumbaiDeshmukh had denied these allegations as baselessHowever what transpired during the meetings at Pawars residence in Delhi could not be knownEarlier in the day Raut told reporters in Mumbai that allegations of Singh against Deshmukh and the Sachin Waze episode have dented the image of the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA government in the stateWaze was arrested by the NIA which is probing the recovery of an explosivesladen vehicle from outside the south Mumbai residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani last month and also the alleged murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran the purported owner of that SUVRaut said all allies the Shiv Sena NCP and Congressneed to introspect if their feet are on the groundAnil Deshmukhs side also needs to be heard before taking any decision on him We will take a decision on Deshmukh by tomorrow Pawar told reporters Jayant Patil who is also the state Water Resources Minister had said that the Delhi visit was planned three days agoThe Pandharpur Assembly bypoll is scheduled next month Ajit Pawar and I decided to meet party workers in Solapur district to know their views over the selection of candidate and the party strategy and then meet Pawar saheb in Delhi with the feedback before returning to Mumbai he saidAccordingly both of us are in Pandharpur to discuss issues related to the bypoll with party workers he saidThe Pandharpur bypoll is scheduled to be held on April 17 It was necessitated due to the death of NCP MLA Bharat Bhalke last yearMeanwhile Congress sources said Central leaders of the party are in touch with leaders in Maharashtra on the developments regarding DeshmukhA Congress leader told PTI on Sunday night that the CM was in touch with all prominent leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA alliance in view of Singhs letterI dont think Anil Deshmukh will be asked to resign as it will amount to accepting the allegations made against him he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever