MUMBAI: Why was FDA minister Narhari Zirwal blindsided by the ACB trap in his office on Thursday? The operation by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ABC), which caught a clerk in Zirwal’s office accepting a bribe from a chemist, had been cleared at the highest levels in the state home department a week earlier. And yet Zirwal had no inkling that the raid was imminent.
The NCP minister has flatly denied any wrongdoing. The opposition has demanded his removal from the state cabinet. Zirwal says he will step down “if any link is proved”.
On Thursday, the ACB caught Rajendra Dherange, the clerk in Zirwal’s office in the state secretariat, accepting a bribe of ₹35,000 from a chemist, to revoke the suspension of his licence. Dherange, who hails from Zirwal’s constituency in Nashik district, is an employee in the state food and civil supplies department but was on deputation in the minister’s office.
However, the question doing the rounds in political circles is why Zirwal was kept in the dark. Since the ACB raid took place in Mantralaya, the state secretariat, it had received the go-ahead from the home department. Intriguingly, the home department is headed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and is also a stone’s throw from Zirwal’s office on the second floor in Mantralaya.
Insiders say additional chief secretary (home) Manisha Mhaiskar, the administrative head of the home department, had signed off on the raid and yet Zirwal had no knowledge of these developments. Moreover, the ACB team had visited the minister’s office on two occasions in the last week, said a home department official.
But why not take Zirwal into confidence? “The ACB believes Dherange was acting at the behest of a senior official from the minister’s office and didn’t want to take any chances, which is why the minister was not informed,” said the official.
That is one theory doing the rounds; the other is darker. NCP leaders question the timing of the raid, coming as it does when the party is vulnerable following the death of its chief, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, just two weeks ago.
“The chief minister holds the home portfolio, and it is impossible that his department did not inform him of the raid,” said an NCP minister. “The timing is odd, considering Zirwal has been vocal about the merger between the two NCP factions,” said the minister, alluding to the unease in the BJP about the possible merger of its alliance partner with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).
Meanwhile, the home department is looking into how the bribe money got past security at the secretariat. “We enquired with police officers in Mantralaya’s security, since visitors are allowed to bring only ₹10,000 into the premises. We were told that this was an exception due to the ACB raid,” another official said.
In other developments, the opposition has slammed the BJP-led Mahayuti government, with Congress state president Harshwardhan Sapkal demanding Zirwal’s resignation. Sapkal said that during Congress rule, the name of the state government’s headquarters was changed from ‘secretariat’ to ‘Mantralaya’ to make governance more people-centric and to help citizens feel that the government belonged to them. However, the “highly corrupt BJP Mahayuti government” has turned Mantralaya into a “corruption hub”, he said.
“A thorough investigation must be conducted, not only into minister Narhari Zirwal but also into the senior officials in his office. Zirwal should resign on moral grounds as it has come to light that bribery was openly going on in his office. He should resign to ensure a fair investigation” said Sapkal.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut demanded that ACB expose the masterminds behind the “corruption racket” in Zirwal’s office. “Zirwal is FDA minister but the question is, what does he know about his department? I have information that officials from his office call FDA officials across the state to get certain actions dropped, among other things. The ACB should reach out to the real masterminds in Zirwal’s office,” said Raut.
Zirwal said that if any allegations against him are proved, he would resign. He also said he would meet chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and explain his stand on the matter.
“I was not in Mumbai when the ACB arrested the clerk in my office for accepting the bribe. It is an unfortunate incident and I will not protect anyone. Those guilty should face punishment,” said the minister.
“I have nothing to do with this incident. Those who are making allegations against me should back them up. If they can prove their charges, I will resign,” said Zirwal.