Won't allow budget session to function if Nawab Malik remains cabinet minister: Maharashtra BJP

Chandrakant Patil. File Photo

The BJP's Maharashtra unit president Chandrakant Patil on Tuesday said that the party will not allow the upcoming budget session to function if Nawab Malik remains a cabinet minister despite being accused of serious charges under the PMLA.

Speaking to reporters, Patil said though the state cabinet minister has been arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the Maharashtra government has not decided to remove him from the post.

"Malik is arrested under the PMLA by the Enforcement Directorate. But the Maharashtra government seems to have decided not to remove him from his post. The BJP will not allow the House to carry out its daily work if Malik remains a cabinet minister," the BJP leader said.

The state budget session will begin on March 3 and will go on till March 25.

Malik was arrested by the ED last week in a case of money laundering linked to fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim.

The BJP has pointed out the resignations of former ministers Sanjay Rathod and Anil Deshmukh, who had stepped down from their posts before any legal action was taken against them.

The three constituents of MVA, the NCP, Shiv Sena and Congress, have termed Malik's arrest as political vendetta, which has no solid ground.

The MVA leaders have countered the BJP, citing that the alleged crime had been committed at least 30 years ago, but Malik was facing the charges now.

When asked about it, Patil said, "Had our government in Maharashtra (2014-19) come to know about these links, we would have certainly gone ahead and taken action. The allegations against Malik involve some people whose crimes against this country have been proven. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to give justice to the victims of Mumbai blasts of 1993."

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