‘Why Parth Pawar being let off?’: Opp to raise Mundhwa land deal issue   

Londhe said no FIR has been filed against Parth Pawar, despite the fact that he held 99 per cent of the stakes in the company, which bought the government land. ”While the one partner who has one per cent stake is facing the FIR, the one who has the maximum stake has been allowed to walk free. What kind of justice system does the Fadnavis government have? Open violations of rules and regulations are happening but the government seems to be hand in glove with the perpetrators. We are going to grill the government on this issue,” he said.

NCP (S-P) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said while the issue of farmers not getting the desired price for their produce and distressed farmers dying by suicide will figure in the Winter Session, the Mundhwa land is one of the prominent issues the Opposition will take up. ”There has been blatant stamp duty evasion in the Mundhwa land deal. It has now emerged that instead of paying Rs 21 crore stamp duty, the purchasers had paid only Rs 500. What happened to the so-called notice issued to the party by the government department? What happened to the announcement made by Ajit Pawar that the deal has been cancelled? If the deal is cancelled, Parth Pawar’s firm will have to pay Rs 42 crore stamp duty. There is complete silence on this aspect from the government. We will seeking to know the full update of the land deal,” said Tapase.

Maharashtra vice-president of AAP Vijay Kumbhar said, ”Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar has already conveyed to me that the Mundhwa land deal issue will be taken up. The Opposition is going to demand filing of an FIR against Parth Pawar. Is he being let off because he is the son of the Deputy Chief Minister? Are there different laws for different people in Maharashtra? I have also written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis that all those involved in the land deal should face action. So far, only Sheetal Tejwani, the power of attorney holder, has been arrested. Why have others not been arrested? Are they getting protection from the state? The Chief Minister will have to clarify it in the house..,” he said.

Congress leader Gopal Tiwari said, ”It is surprising that despite the fact that the IGR committee has submitted its report highlighting the blatant evasion of stamp duty to the tune of crores, all those guilty have still not been arrested.The Congress will continue to raise the issue in the Legislature as well outside.”

In the Mundhwa land deal, two FIRs have been filed so far—one with Bavdhan police, which comes under Pimpri-Chinchwad police, and another with Khadak police, which comes under Pune police commissionerate. The Pune police city transferred the case from Khadak police to the Economic Offences Wing. In the Mundhwa land case, FIRs have been filed against Sheetal Tejwani, Digvijay Patil, who is Parth Pawar’s partner in the firm and tehsildar Suryakant Yewale, who has secured anticipatory bail from the Bombay High Court. Tejwani was arrested earlier this week.

Meanwhile, Parth Pawar refused to speak on the issue andhas remained out of bounds. His father Ajit Pawar has firmly stood by him, arguing that Parth did not know that the land he was purchasing belonged to the government.