State Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis issued a direct warning to NCP leader Anil Deshmukh, saying, "I don't trouble anyone, but if you trouble me, I won't let go." Fadnavis also revealed that members of Deshmukh's own party had provided evidence against him. He pointed out that Deshmukh is currently out on bail.
Anil Deshmukh, the former Home Minister, had accused Fadnavis of pressuring him to make false allegations against Uddhav Thackeray and Ajit Pawar. Fadnavis responded by saying, "Deshmukh has made accusations against me before. I did not speak on this earlier. I do not engage in such politics. I don't trouble anyone, but if someone troubles me, I won't let go. I have audio-visual evidence provided by some leaders of Deshmukh's own party. It shows what Deshmukh, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, and Sachin Vaze have said. If accusations against me continue, I will have to make these public. I do not speak without evidence."
Addressing Deshmukh's claims that Fadnavis pressured him to entangle Uddhav Thackeray and Ajit Pawar, Fadnavis explained, "After accusations against Deshmukh, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government was in power in the state. The Chief Justice of the Mumbai High Court ordered a case to be filed against him. Deshmukh then went to jail and is now out on bail."
Fadnavis also commented on the recent CBI chargesheet, which included allegations of pressure to apply the MCOCA against Girish Mahajan. "There is audio-visual evidence that false charges were pressed against Mahajan, and the CBI has presented this in court. This shows how the Maha Vikas Aghadi government tried to misuse the MCOCA against opposition MLAs," he said.
Responding to allegations made by ANIS head Shyam Manav, Fadnavis said, "Shyam Manav has known me for years. He should have asked me once before making allegations. Recently, many have taken up the job of making false accusations. One must check if Shyam Manav has fallen into the trap of these people."