Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik on Wednesday morning claimed that former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis of having underworld connections. Nawab Malik in his presser alleged that the former Chief Minister allowed the underworld to flourish in the city and also protected several fake currency rackets post demonetisation on November 8, 2016. Nawab Malik did not stop here. The Maharashtra minister also accused Devendra Fadnavis of shielding criminal Munna Yadav and having a connection with the underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's aide Riyaz Bhati. The expose comes a day after Fadnavis alleged a dubious land deal involving Malik, his family members, and two convicts of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case over a decade ago, which the politician has denied.
“With the blessing of Fadnavis, the game of counterfeit notes started in Maharashtra. After demonetisation was declared by PM Narendra Modi and when fake currency was being seized in many states, no case was registered in Maharashtra for almost a year. On October 8, 2017, DRI conducted a raid and seized fake currency worth ₹14.56 crore but the case was weakened by Fadnavis, (the then chief minister) showing a seizure of only ₹8.80 lakh,” Malik claimed. Today's press conference was in response to the claims made by Fadnavis on Tuesday, accusing Malik of having business dealings with 1993 Mumbai blasts convicts. The BJP leader said that Malik and his family members purchased land in suburban Kurla at a very cheap rate through fictitious documents from the two convicts. The NCP leader rubbished the "baseless" allegations, which he said have been levelled against him to malign his image and said he did not know underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's sister Haseena Parker. The NCP leader also said that he still has a lot of bombs left with him. "Will drop some in the Vidhan Sabha too," Nawab Malik added.