NCP to appoint SIT after Uddhav Thackeray transfers case to NIA

Nawab Malik

Despite Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray approving the transfer of Elgar Parishad and Koregaon Bhima case to the National Investigations Agency (NIA), the NCP-controlled home department has decided to hold a parallel inquiry into the incidents.

In a meeting of the NCP members, party boss Sharad Pawar said that the home department would appoint a special investigation team (SIT) to conduct a parallel probe.

"Pawar had given a letter to the state government to set up an SIT to probe these cases. The clause 10 of the NIA Act has a provision of creating a parallel SIT," said party spokesperson and minister Nawab Malik.

Pawar had slammed the CM's decision of transferring the case to NIA. He had said the Centre shifted the probe overnight because it wanted to hide something from the people.

'Coordinate for stable govt'

In the same meeting, Pawar told the ministers that should work in coordination and avoid making statements that are detrimental to the MVA and create a rift between the party and the government. He said such matters were reported in the media and created an impression that the government faced issues created out of lack of coordination.

The NCP boss also reviewed the performance of party ministers and asked them to fulfil the assurances given in the manifesto. Over the National Population Registry (NPR) exercise, Malik said that the NCP was not opposed to it but wanted clarity on what kind of questionnaire should be given to the people. "All three parties would decide the questionnaire," he said.

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