Maha govt appointed men with Dawood links to Waqf Board, Fadnavis tells Assembly

Mumbai: BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Monday accused the Maharashtra government of placing people with links to fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim on the state’s Waqf Board.

Speaking in the Assembly, Fadnavis said a pen drive he had submitted contained a conversation between Waqf Board members Mohammad Arshad Khan and Mudasir Lambe.

During the course of the conversation, Lambe claimed his father-in-law was an associate of Ibrahim, while Khan said his uncle was part of the underworld, Fadnavis told the House.

Khan is in jail, while Lambe is outside despite facing rape charges, the BJP leader alleged.

He also attacked the MVA government on budgetary provisions, citing that capital expenditure had come down from 49 percent to 35 percent, which was worrying, while revenue expenditure had increased from 60 per cent to 66 per cent.

The increase of 12.1 per cent in GSDP was only on paper, while a five-point development programme announced by the state government did not contain anything on education, Fadnavis said.

He called the budget announcements old wine in new bottle, adding that farmers were being forced to seek financial help from money-lenders despite state government claims of waiving off farm loans.

”If Mumbai is getting 130 percent rise in funds, it is just 5 per cent for Osmanabad district. Why this difference? The departments headed by NCP have got 57 percent, those under the Congress 26 per cent and Shiv Sena 16 per cent,” the former CM told the House.

Fadnavis attacked the government on disconnection of electricity supply to farm plots, malpractices in setting up of COVID-19 facilities, lack of relief to those affected by cyclones Nisarg and Tauktae.