Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday informed the state Assembly that the associates of an accused woman, who tried to extort money from rural development minister Jaykumar Gore, were in direct contact with NCP SP leaders Supriya Sule and Rohit Pawar.
Fadnavis alleged that videos defaming Gore were sent to Sule and Pawar.
He expressed disappointment, saying, “We are political opponents, not enemies. It is wrong to conspire to ruin someone’s life.”
The CM said that the woman has already been arrested by laying a trap, and the police are currently investigating the case.
According to him, evidence from WhatsApp chats and call records suggests that the accused had over 150 calls related to the conspiracy.
He stated that Prabhakarrao Deshmukh, a key figure, was in direct contact with all three accused i.e the woman who accused Gore, YouTuber Tushar Kharat and another accused Anil Subhedar.
He praised Gore for reporting the extortion attempt to the police instead of succumbing to pressure. “Despite being in a tough situation, he approached the police. A sting operation was conducted, conversations were recorded, and the accused were caught red-handed accepting money.
The case against Jaykumar Gore was registered in 2016 and ended in 2019. At that time, he was not in the BJP.
Speaking in the Maharashtra Assembly, Rohit Pawar acknowledged that he and Supriya Sule were contacted regarding the case and that they may have made one or two phone calls to ensure justice for the woman involved. “Yes, we may have made a couple of calls, but not 100 or 200 as alleged.”
Meanwhile, Sule has also decided to respond to Fadnavis’ allegations and is set to make a statement later in the evening. Reacting to the accusations, she sarcastically thanked Fadnavis, saying, “I thank Fadnavis for making me a leader by mentioning my name. If needed, I am ready to submit my phone for investigation.”
