Only way Sharad Pawar's credibility can be restored is by making Anil Deshmukh resign: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. Pic/AFP

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday said that the only way NCP chief Sharad Pawar's credibility can be restored is by making Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh resign.

"A 'khela' is happening in Maharashtra too. I just saw the Maharashtra ATS press conference, where only a statement was made and no questions were taken...What's happening in Maharashtra is not 'vikas' it is 'vasooli'," Prasad said in Delhi at a press conference.

"Who is running the show of Maharashtra? Is it the most confused government in the history of Maharashtra? What is the political direction of this 'vasooli' Aghadi? Sharad Pawar enjoys political credibility but under what compulsion is he defending Anil Deshmukh," he said.

"The only way Sharad Pawar Ji's credibility can be restored is by making Anil Deshmukh resign," he added.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday defended Anil Deshmukh regarding a complaint by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on allegations of corruption against him, stating that the Maharashtra Home Minister was hospitalised between February 5 to 15.

Addressing media here, Pawar said, "If you see the former Commissioner's (Param Bir Singh) letter, he mentions that in mid-February, he was informed by certain officers that they got such and such instructions from the Home Minister. From February 5 to 15, Deshmukh was admitted in the hospital because of coronavirus."

Pawar also displayed a hospital slip which indicated that Deshmukh was in the hospital till February 15.

Deshmukh had shared a video message on social media in which he claimed an attempt is being made to mislead people by disseminating wrong information about him.

"I tested positive for COVID-19 on February 5. I was hospitalised from February 5 to 15. After being discharged from the hospital on February 15, the doctor's advised me to stay in home quarantine for 10 days. I attended a few virtual meetings in Nagpur hospital and later during the home quarantine," he said in the video message.

"A few officers visited me at home for briefing prior to budget session on March 1. I stepped out of my house for the first time on February 28 for official work. I am sharing this video to refute the wrong information that is being circulated to mislead the public," he added.

There are reports of Deshmukh's association with suspended Mumbai Police ASI Sachin Waze whose name came up in the Mansukh Hiran death case.

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