'Was Asked To Frame Uddhav Thackeray': Anil Deshmukh’s Claim Stirs Row, Devendra Fadnavis Reacts

Former Maharashtra home minister and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar faction) leader Anil Deshmukh on Wednesday made a major claim saying that state deputy chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis pressured him into signing false affidavits against former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray,  Ajit Pawar and others in order to avoid getting embroiled in litigation himself.

“Three years ago, Devendra Fadnavis sent a man to me and asked me to write four affidavits. I was asked to make written allegations against Uddhav Thackeray, Aaditya Thackeray, Ajit Pawar and Anil Parab. Devendra Fadnavis sent the affidavits and asked me to sign them. I was told that if I did this, then neither ED nor CBI would come after me.,” the NCP leader claimed.

Deshmukh further said that he was pressurised to file a false affidavit against Aaditya Thackeray that he raped Disha Salian and threw her from the balcony.

“I was pressurised but I clearly said that even if I have to go to jail for life, I will not make false allegations. I did not bow down and that is why ED and CBI were sent after me. I was asked to give a false affidavit that Aaditya Thackeray raped Disha Salian and threw her from the balcony,” he added.

Meanwhile, Fadnavis denied the allegations. Terming as baseless, the BJP leader claimed he had several clips of Deshmukh’s remarks against Thackeray and Sharad.

“The High Court had ordered an FIR to be registered against Anil Deshmukh… He should know that I have multiple pieces of audiovisual evidence of his comments about then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar. If false accusations are levelled against me, I will have no choice but to make this evidence public,” Fadnavis has said.

Deshmukh stepped down as home minister in April 2021 after the then Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh accused him of ordering police to collect money from hotel and bar owners across the city.

He was arrested by the ED in a money laundering case in November 2021 and by the CBI in a corruption case in April 2022. He was in judicial custody for over a year before being granted bail by the Bombay High Court.

(With inputs from agencies)