Admin of Aurangzeb, Fadnavis similar: Cong

Sapkal slams state government for deteriorating law and order; says the home dept is run like 'Ghashiram Kotwal'

- Shrinivas Deshpande

PUNE: Comparing the administration of Devendra Fadnavis and Mughal emperor Aurangzeb as similar, Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal said that the state needs a full-time home minister.

Speaking to reporters in Pune on Saturday, Sapkal slammed the state government for deteriorating law and order and said the home department is run like "Ghashiram Kotwal". Kotwal, a police prefect during the Peshwa era, was known for his tyrannical policing of Pune city.

Sapkal said the chief minister has multiple departments besides being the head of the state and, therefore, Maharashtra needs a minister who has sole charge of home portfolio.

"Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh was murdered, a woman was raped in Pune and there was violence in Parbhani. There is no police system left in Beed. The state is under Tughlaqi rule. I stand by my statement that the administration of Fadnavis and that of Aurangzeb is similar," he said.

The statement had earlier provoked a strident attack from the ruling alliance, which had accused Sapkal of insulting Fadnavis.

They had raised the issue in the legislature and had sought legal action against the Congress leader.

Sapkal also accused the Fadnavis administration of protecting those who insult Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He questioned how Nagpur-based journalist Prashant Koratkar, who had been given police protection despite insulting Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, managed to escape, a charge Fadnavis has refuted.

Koratkar was booked on February 26 for allegedly threatening Kolhapur-based historian Indrajeet Sawant and making derogatory comments against the Maratha king and his warrior-son Sambhaji Maharaj.

Asked about reports of Koratkar being in Dubai, Fadnavis on Saturday told reporters that news on the issue was being put out without verification.