Mumbai, Nov 10
Shiv Sena(UBT) has claimed that the pride of every 'Marathi Manoos' has been dented after the high-value land deal in Pune's upscale Mundhwa-Koregaon Park, involving Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar, came to light and was quickly cancelled later.

The party in its mouthpiece, 'Saamana' said, "What is annoying is the Fadnavis government gave a 'clean chit' to Parth Pawar as an FIR was not registered against him despite holding 99 per cent share in Amedea Enterprises LLP, but was filed against his cousin Digvijay Patil, who is a signatory of the sale deed and holds one per cent share. No one will hold Chief Minister Fadnavis' hand in giving a clean chit. It is dangerous to send the message to society that if a thief returns the stolen goods, he gets a clean chit. If a madman enters the Mantralaya and stabs a corrupt person in a fit of rage and returns the weapon as soon as the police register a case, will the crimes against him be forgiven?"

The Thackeray camp further said that if the crime does not exist after the land is returned, and if this step is taken, all the criminals will keep getting away with similar crimes that they have committed. “This is proof that Maharashtra is no longer a state of law. What is happening in Maharashtra at present is terrible and equally worrying. The question is not about Parth Pawar, but the way in which Maharashtra is being looted is a matter of grave concern. There are three ministers in the government who have their eyes on the strategic lands. A deputy chief minister tried to give the land of Mundhwa to a favourite builder from Thane, but in the spirit of 'Pune Hamara Ilakha Hai (Pune is our bastion)', Parth Pawar ended the transaction for Rs 300 crore. This is a battle between corrupt people. It came to the fore due to Parth Pawar’s land deal.”

The editorial further alleged, "A land scam in Pune earlier came to the fore, and later it was put behind the curtains. The Shiv Sena Minister, Sanjay Shirsat, gave 5,000 acres of forest land in the Raigad district to a person named Bivalkar. Nothing has happened in it either. The Fadnavis government has started a land donation scheme from Mumbai to Chandrapur for a select few. Now Parth Pawar’s land transaction has been added to it. The son has gone after the father,” it claimed, adding that these cases clearly show that Maharashtra's present politicians are hungry for land grabbing.

The Saamana editorial said the Pune land deal row coincided with news that Maharashtra has topped the country in corruption for the third consecutive year. "This must have made the entire Marathi Manoos feel bad. The struggle and motivation behind the formation of the Maharashtra state were different. But today it is being completely dismantled. There was a time when Maharashtra Chief Ministers used to be in the top five in the country for their good deeds. Maharashtra was ahead in development, but since the land case of Parth Pawar in Pune came to light, the state has become infamous for corruption and land grabbing,” it alleged.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena took a dig at Deputy CM Ajit Pawar over his statement that he will not tolerate anything done illegally. “Parth is a very hardworking, diligent, and drug-free child. Is it his fault that his father is the Deputy Chief Minister of the state? The father is a law-abiding person, and he wields the baton of law in front of the common people. Shouldn't Parth Pawar know that he has to deal with his law-abiding father while making a corrupt and illegal land deal, especially when his father threatens, 'I will not tolerate anything done crookedly,” it taunted.

The editorial questioned Dy CM Ajit Pawar’s statement that “I don't know about the land deal. I learnt something about it, but already told you not to do anything wrong."

"Despite that, Parth Pawar and his company made the transaction and got the land registered. Surprisingly, the stamp duty relief was given by asking the company to pay a paltry Rs 500 as a stamp duty on such a multi-crore deal. Parth Pawar does not tell his father that he is buying land worth Rs 1,800 crore for Rs 300 crore. Does it because of the rift in the relationships of families living under the same roof? If Ajit Pawar claims he does not know what Parth Pawar did, then from where did the latter get Rs 300 crore?” Saamana editorial asked.

Pune land deal another example of loot in Maharashtra: Shiv Sena(UBT)'s Saamana