Whistle-blowers, who have been raising a voice against former minister Eknath Khadse, welcomed the step taken by the government on Saturday, but added that it was not enough.
Whistle-blowers, who have been raising a voice against former minister Eknath Khadse, welcomed the step taken by the government on Saturday, but added that it was not enough.
Dr Ramesh Jadhav, ex-director of Jamnalal Bajaj Institute
Dr Ramesh Jadhav was the one on whose complaint the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested Khadse's aide Gajanan Patil. It was the first big blow to Khadse. It is said that Patil was under scanner for six months before he was arrested. Jadhav was seeking to clear a land in Pune for educational purpose, but the plan was rejected by the government. “If BJP wants to prove that it is a clean party, it should remove Khadse from the primary membership,” said Jadhav.
Stating that he was the “first person to have booked him”, Jadhav said, “It is only later that other people started coming out. The chief minister should now hasten my work and clear the file, so that I can start the work on the plot that I was seeking.”
Anjali Damania, former Aam Aadmi Party member
While Jadhav wanted Khadse to be removed, ex-Aam Admi Party (AAP) member Anjali Damania said a fair probe should be conducted, and if Khadse is innocent, he may be rewarded with “more ministries”. Unlike Jadhav, Damania has been levelling a series of allegations against Khadse. It started with his son-in-law procuring a limousine to Khadse ensuring that his family owned an MIDC land, that gets them better compensation after revision of the Act concerned. She even alleged that sugar factories were being procured by contractors involved in irrigation project and that they transferred the land to Khadse over a period of time. “The investigation should be carried out by ED, EOW and ACB,” said Damania.
Hemant Gawande, Pune-based builder
Of all the allegations, ones raised by Hemant Gawande, the whistle-blower who raised the Bhosari MIDC-land issue. got the most traction in media. Gawande alleged that Khadse purchased the land from original buyer and transferred it to his family to get more compensation. “The government took an important step towards the dream of a corruption-free India. The worm of corruption has stuck to the society, and through that people like Khadse have come out. The government has set a good precedent before people by keeping him aside. Elected representatives should not think that the permission to govern is given for them to fill their own homes. I will continue to fight for the case, till it reaches a conclusion,” said Gawande.
Manish Bhangale, ethical hacker
“Ethical hacker” Manish Bhangale, made the most sensational of all allegations – the Dawood links – against Khadse. His allegations were taken up by the Aam Aadmi Party, which also gave him platform in a press conference, where he first interacted with the media. Bhangale hacked into the mail account of Dawood's wife to get details of most calls made to numbers. One of them, said Bhangale, was of Khadse. He alleged that Khadse had not disconnected his phone and continued to use it. He filed a petition in court for a CBI inquiry.
Bhangale who was travelling to the city and has already met anti-terrorist squad (ATS) members, said he will stick to his allegations.
“The Mumbai ATS called me but my lawyers have stated that since a PIL has been filed, we will wait for it to be heard. I will decide on whatever the court verdict is. We want a CBI inquiry into the issue, because the person who heads CBI gave a clean chit to Khadse within minutes. If the inquiry is conducted by two agencies, I will stick to my stand and the documents that I have already given. If the court states that an inquiry be conducted by both a retired high court judge and CBI, I am in for it,” said Bhangale.
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