Devendra Fadnavis claimed that the MVA government placed officials with Dawood connections to the Waqf Board

During his speech on the annual budget for 2022-23, Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis dropped yet another pen drive bomb, alleging that people linked to the underworld fugitive Dawood Ibrahim were appointed to the State Waqf Board, which is a statutory body that oversees the maintenance and use of Islamic buildings, institutions, and lands. However, Home Minister Dilip Wasle-Patil fiercely refuted Fadnavis' claims, claiming that the putative office-bearer was elected to the board in September 2019, while the BJP was in power in Maharashtra.

 

A pen drive Fadnavis had submitted contained a communication between Waqf Board members Mohammad Arshad Khan and Mudasir Lambe, according to Fadnavis. During the chat, Lambe stated that his father-in-law was an acquaintance of Ibrahim, and Khan said that his uncle was a member of the underworld.

 

Fadnavis' charge was refuted by the daughter of Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik, who oversees the Wakf department and is currently incarcerated. Sana Malik-Shaikh rebutted Fadnavis, claiming that Lambe, whom the BJP leader claimed of having ties to Ibrahim, was appointed to the Board by the previous government in the state, which he served (2014-19). Sana Malik-Shaikh, who is also the Maharashtra unit Vice-President of the Rashtravadi Yuvati Congress, a faction of the NCP, used Twitter to retaliate against Fadnavis by sharing Lambe's photo with him.

 

Sachin Sawant, the general secretary of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, has sought an investigation into the BJP's ties to so-called Dr. Lambe and has urged Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil to take notice of the fresh information. Nawab Malik, the NCP's Minority Affairs Minister, is currently being held in judicial custody in connection with an alleged money-laundering investigation into Ibrahim's activities.

 

"Half Truth is a Complete Lie!!" On September 13, 2019, the Fadnavis/BJP government named Dr. Lambe to the Waqf Board. The Maha Vikas Aghadi government was formed in November of this year. In the first week of January 2020, my father was assigned to the Minority/Waqf Department. Sana Malik-Shaikh tweeted, "@Dev Fadnavis with D-Gang Relative & a Rape Accused."

 

 

Image Courtesy: Twitter @Dev_Fadnavis