Maharashtra polls: Fadnavis, Prithviraj say irrigation scam probe against Ajit initiated by RR Patil

A day after Ajit Pawar accused late RR Patil of betrayal, two former chief ministers — Prithviraj Chavan and Devendra Fadnavis — on Wednesday claimed that Patil had initiated the inquiry into Ajit’s alleged involvement in the ₹70,000 crore irrigation scam after allegations surfaced from opposition parties.

Ajit, speaking at Tasgaon in Sangli district on Tuesday, alleged that he was “betrayed” by his former colleague, the late RR Patil, who was then the home minister and initiated an inquiry into the irrigation scam. The deputy chief minister’s comments come as RR Patil’s son, Rohit Patil, contests the upcoming assembly elections under the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) against NCP candidate Sanjay Kaka Patil.

Chavan said, “Though I was the then chief minister, the irrigation scam never came to me directly. Once the allegations arose, the matter was referred to the home ministry under RR Patil, who initiated the inquiry. I did not know why he ordered it or who influenced the decision, but Ajit has held resentment against me for this. He should clarify now that I was not behind starting the inquiry.”

According to Ajit, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis, after becoming the chief minister in 2014, showed him a file containing Patil’s comments directing an inquiry. The NCP chief recounted the incident at the rally in Tasgaon.

“Allegations were made against me in the irrigation scam, and there were efforts to defame me. They claimed a scam of ₹70,000 crore in irrigation projects, even though total expenses, including salaries, were only around ₹43,000 crore,” Ajit had stated. He claimed that a case was deliberately built to inflate the numbers and portray it as a massive scam.

During 1999-2009, Ajit was the water resources development minister in the Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra and also chaired the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation, which approved irrigation projects in question. “A file was sent to the home department, led by RR Patil, where he approved an open inquiry and noted it in the file. It was a case of backstabbing from a close colleague,” he had said.

Following this, the NCP withdrew support from the Prithviraj Chavan-led government, leading to President’s rule. Ajit said, “The then Governor didn’t sign off on the file, saying it should wait for the new chief minister’s signature.” The NCP, led by Sharad Pawar, formally ended its alliance with the Congress just days before the 2014 assembly elections.

“When the Fadnavis-led government came to power, Fadnavis signed the file but called me to inform me about it. He showed me RR Patil’s signature on the file. I was deeply hurt, as Patil had been a trusted colleague,” he said.

In 2019, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) cleared Ajit of any wrongdoing in the irrigation scam, shortly after the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government—comprising Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress—took office in Maharashtra.

Fadnavis said, “I normally avoid commenting on leaders who are no longer with us, but I need to clarify that Ajit’s inquiry began while Congress and NCP were in power in the state.”

Rohit Patil said, “It’s unfortunate that Ajit Pawar made such statements about my father, who is not alive to respond. Had he been here, he could clarify this himself. I respect Ajit Pawar, but there’s a chance my father initiated the inquiry to address the opposition claims about a ₹70,000 crore scam, believing that an investigation would ultimately dismiss the accusations.”