Sanjay Nirupam, expelled Congress leader, has said that Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut is the ‘real kingpin’ of ‘Khichdi’ scam in Maharashtra. Earlier Nirupam had also targeted Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Amol Kirtikar as he was declared the INDIA bloc candidate for the Mumbai North West seat for the Lok Sabha polls. Amid the broiling Khichdi scam case, Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued summons to Amol Kirtikar.
“When I started working on this scam, I came to know that the ‘kingpin’ was someone else. The kingpin in this whole scam is Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson, Sanjay Raut…,” Sanjay Nirupam, who was expelled for six years by the Congress, was quoted by news ANI as saying.
Continuing his attack on Sanjay Raut, the former MP said, “In this scam, he has taken money in the name of his daughter, brother and partner. There is a company called Sahyadri Refreshment where Rajiv Salunkhe and Sujit Patkar were involved, who were partners of Sanjay Raut. The company received a contract worth ₹6.37 lakh to supply khichdi during Covid.”
An aspirant for the Congress’s ticket from Mumbai North West, Nirupam was upset with the party for letting its ally Uddhav Sena claim the seat. This finally led to his exit from the Congress. Nirupam has accused Kirtikar of being allegedly involved in the Khichdi scam.
“Sanjay Raut‘s family and his friends took ₹1 crore as brokerage. ..He has taken bribes through cheques in the name of her daughter Vidhita Sanjay Raut, who herself is innocent and unaware of these things…,” Nirupam added.
On Kirtikar being summoned by the central agency, Nirupam said, “What ED does after the interrogation, I don’t know, but action must be taken against him. The entire people from the North-West district should know, how dishonest their possible candidate is.”
What is the Khichdi Scam?
The Khichdi scam involves irregularities in the contracts allotted to companies by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the preparation and distribution of khichdi to migrant workers, who were stuck in Maharashtra’s capital city, Mumbai amid the lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
In June 2022 following the split in the Shiv Sena, the subsequent Mahayuti regime – comprising the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction and BJP, and later the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction – launched a host of inquiries into the functioning of the BMC which led to the unearthing of the alleged scam.
In September 2023, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police registered an FIR against several persons including Sujit Patkar, an aide of Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut. Other accused included Sunil alias Bala Kadam, Sahyadri Refreshments’ Rajeev Salunkhe along with some employees and partners of Force One Multi Services and Sneha Caterers.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Published: 08 Apr 2024, 07:25 PM IST
