If I'd known, I would have told Parth not to go ahead with land deal: Maharashtra Dy CM Ajit Pawar

PUNE: The state govt has formed two committees to carry out an investigation into the controversial land deal in Pune in which Parth Pawar has been embroiled. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar said on Saturday that his son Parth did not consult any legal experts or him before proceeding with the land deal.

Ajit Pawar said, "In any deal, we first check through legal advisors if the documents are clear, and then only we proceed. The same thing did not happen in this case. I was also not aware of it, otherwise, I would have told them not to go ahead with the deal."He added, "Considering that it is govt-owned land, the deal should not have happened, but somebody showed the daring of proceeding with the deal. Now the committees are carrying out inquiries to find out if anybody influenced the officials for it."

An FIR has been registered in this connection at Bavdhan police station naming Parth's partner in the company Digvijay Patil, Sheetal Tejwani, who held the power of attorney, and the suspended sub-registrar, Ravindra Taru. It does not mention the name of Parth despite him holding 99% of the company's shares.The opposition accused the govt of shielding Parth by not naming him in the FIR, while Ajit Pawar clarified that it was registered against those who signed the deal.

Parth was not among those signatories, he said.The probe panel headed by the joint IGR will submit its report in seven days, while the committee headed by the additional chief secretary of the revenue department is expected to conclude the inquiry in the Mundhwa land deal case within a month and submit its report to the state govt. "Along with the inquiry of the deal, the committee will give suggestions to the govt on how to avoid such deals involving govt lands in future," Ajit Pawar said.Responding to the opposition's demand that he should resign as deputy chief minister, he said, "In my 35 years of political career, I have faced various allegations. None of those allegations could be proven, but it tarnished my reputation. When elections are close, such allegations start coming from the opposition. These subside once the polls are over."On Friday, Ajit Pawar had said he had been unfairly accused in the irrigation scam. "There were allegations against me in 2009-10, but they were not proven. A white paper was issued," he had said.