CM Shinde: Thorough probe to be conducted into Jaisinghani’s relations with MVA leaders

Mumbai: As an old picture of absconding bookie Anil Jaisinghani and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray surface on social media, chief minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday said there will be a thorough enquiry into Jaisinghani’s relations with the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders.

Jaisinghani, who has 17 cases registered against him, was arrested thrice in betting cases and is wanted in over seven cases in five states. His 25-year-old designer daughter Aniksha, who was arrested on Thursday was accused by deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis of lending her designer clothes and jewellery to his wife Amruta, and ultimately setting a trap to blackmail her asking for cases against her history-sheeter father to be scrapped.

In the viral photo that surfaced online, Uddhav Thackeray is seen welcoming Anil Jaisinghani, who allegedly joined Shiv Sena in 2014. Shinde referring to the photo said that there will be a thorough probe into Jaisinghani’s relations with the MVA leaders. “Devendra Fadnavis has given a statement in the assembly about this. Anil Jaisinghani, the accused, had joined all the parties in the MVA. There will be a thorough enquiry. This defamation of Amruta Fadnavis has been done deliberately. We have to find out who is behind this. Politics should not go to such a low level, but we will find out the conspirator who tried to defame Amruta Fadnavis,” said Shinde.

His statement led to a new political battle on Saturday with an attack and counter-attack between the Shinde-Fadnavis government and the Thackeray faction.

MP Sanjay Raut from Sena (UBT) said that if the politics of photography begins, family members of leaders from the ruling alliance will go to jail. Raut also warned the ruling Shinde-Fadnavis government not to start the politics over photographs and said there will be political explosions in Maharashtra.

“Shiv Sena supremo late Bal Thackeray taught us never to attack the family of any leader for political gain. If BJP continues to do the politics of photos, there are photos of the chief minister, deputy chief minister and their family members with ‘someone’. So, let’s not talk about it. We have so much evidence that their family members will go to jail. But we don’t want to stoop to that level and will not bring your families into the political battle. But don’t force us to open our mouths. Otherwise, there will be a political explosion in Maharashtra”, said Raut.

After Jaisinghani and Thackeray’s picture went viral on social media, Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare tweeted the photo of Amruta Fadnavis with Danish Hingora, son of Sameer Hingora, who was sentenced to 9 years of jail for 1993 Bombay blasts.