Maha: Kirit Somaiya stopped on the way to Kolhapur; Sena, BJP indulge in war of words
Pune/Mumbai: Former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya on Monday claimed he was stopped by police at Karad in Maharashtra while he was on way to Kolhapur after the district authorities cited law and order as well as security concerns following his allegations of corruption against Maharashtra Rural Development Minister Hasan Mushrif.
As Somaiya slammed the ruling Shiv Sena and NCP for his "detention", Sena MP Sanjay Raut tried to distance the Sena leadership from the development, saying the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) had nothing to do with the action taken by the state Home department, which is headed by Dilip Walse Patil of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Claiming lack of coordination in Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents, the opposition BJP claimed Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was not informed about the action against Somaiya.
The drama began on Sunday evening when a team of Mumbai Police reached Somaiya's residence in suburban Mulund to hand him over a notice of the Kolhapur administration asking him to not enter the Kolhapur district.
Somaiya, however, left his residence on Sunday evening for Girgaum Chowpatty in Mumbai and later boarded a train to Kolhapur with police personnel in tow.
After getting down at Karad in the Satara district, nearly 75 km ahead of Kolhapur following persuasion by the police, Somaiya addressed a press conference and alleged that attempts were made by Mumbai police on Sunday night to prevent him from boarding the Kolhapur-bound train and he was also jostled.
The BJP leader also said he would soon go to Kagal in Kolhapur, the Assembly constituency represented by Mushrif, and file a police complaint against the minister over alleged irregularities committed by him.
Reacting to the episode, the ruling Shiv Sena alleged that the BJP was trying to destablise the Maharashtra government, while BJP state chief Chandrakant Patil claimed that there was a misuse of power and accused state ministers of indulging in corruption.
A few days back, Somaiya had accused Mushrif of indulging in corruption and holding 'benami' entities in the name of his kin, allegations dismissed as baseless by the latter.
Somaiya, who boarded the Mahalaxmi Express in Mumbai on Sunday night to go to Kolhapur, in a tweet on Monday morning said, "Police stopped me at Karad under prohibitory order." Kolhapur Superintendent of Police Shailesh Balkawde told PTI that a team of district police reached Karad, and Somaiya was stopped at Karad railway station and served a copy of the (prohibitory) order.
"After we told him that he was prohibited from entering the district, he cooperated and will now return after addressing a press conference in Karad," the official said.
Somaiya on Sunday displayed an order from Kolhapur Collector Rahul Rekhawar that said the former had been prohibited from entering the district under section 144 of the IPC "in view of the threat to his life and possibility of law and order situation due to his visit".
The order also said the police would be occupied with Ganpati immersions and it would not be possible to provide security to Somaiya.
Senior Inspector Sunil Kamble of Navghar police station in Mumbai had also issued a notice to Somaiya, asking him to follow the Kolhapur administration's order.
