Opposition members blackmailing mill owners with threat of raising questions in House BJP MLC

Mumbai, Mar 13 (PTI) A BJP MLC has alleged that some opposition members are blackmailing rice mill owners in Maharashtra with the threat of raising questions in the assembly and demanding money through their “agents”.


    The member of the legislative council, Parinay Fuke, said on Thursday that he had submitted video and audio clips to support his claim to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and demanded a probe.

    He had also raised the issue in the council on Wednesday after a “calling attention” notice concerning the matter was listed in the state assembly the previous day.

    “Some opposition leaders blackmailed rice mill owners and threatened to ask questions or list calling attention notices to extract money through their agents,” Fuke said.

    A calling attention notice is a parliamentary procedure where a member can bring a matter of urgent public importance to the attention of a minister and request a statement on the issue, without necessarily leading to a debate.

    When asked about the contents of the audio and video clips he was referring to, Fuke said they state that mill owners were threatened that questions and calling attention notices would be filed in the assembly. This will result in losses worth crores to the mill owners, Fuke claimed.

    He also claimed that the audio clips contain a demand for money.

    When asked to name the opposition leaders, Fuke declined to comment and said the CM has asked him not to speak about the issue till facts and forensic reports are out. He said 8-10 people, apart from an MLA and people close to the lawmaker are involved in this.

    Fuke said he raised the issue in the council only after the calling attention motion was raised in the lower house.

    Such a calling attention motion, raised by senior Congress leader Nana Patole, concerning rice mills came up for discussion in the assembly on Tuesday.

    When asked to comment on the matter, Patole declined to speak on it.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)