Last Update: April 20, 2023, 10:32 AM IST
The NCP spokesperson, whom News18.com contacted, said that Ajit Pawar has never shied away from the investigation. (Photo: ANI File)
Jarandeshwar Co-operative Sugar Mill Limited became operational in the year 1999-2000, during which it received loans from MSCB from time to time, when Ajit Pawar was on the board of directors of the bank.
A split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was the talk of the town in Maharashtra on Tuesday, with speculations rife that 40 MLAs have extended support to Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Ajit Pawar and that he would soon join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party. Janata Party (BJP).
However, later in the day, Pawar clarified that he was not leaving the NCP, “not till his last breath”.
While these rumors of a rift in support of the NCP and Pawar to the BJP have been doing the rounds for some time, the role of Ajit Pawar and his company in the Jarandeshwar sugar mill is also being talked about.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in 2019 related to illegal allocation of sugar mills and the role of district cooperative banks in providing loans to them. ED is probing this money laundering case where charges have been framed under sections 120(B), 420, 467 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code.
According to the ED’s charge sheet, irregularities have been committed by the Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank (MSCB) in disbursement of loans to sugar mills, which is contrary to the credit management guidelines of NABARD.
The chargesheet also states that as on date there is an outstanding loan of Rs 487 crore against the sugar mills and a total loan of Rs 826 crore against the assessment by MSCB of only Rs 41.23 crore and Rs 45.77 crore.
What is the real story?
Jarandeshwar Co-operative Sugar Mill Limited became operational in the year 1999-2000, during which it received loans from MSCB from time to time, when Ajit Pawar was on the board of directors of the bank.
The account became a non-performing asset (NPA) with a total outstanding of Rs 78.9 crore. MSCB sold the mill to Guru Commodity Services through an auction in 2010. A company of the same name, Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Pvt Ltd, formed in November 2010, which took the mill on lease from Guru Commodity Services, was controlled by a holding company where Ajit Pawar was a former director.
After the auction, a loan of Rs 826 crore was taken in the name of the mill from the Pune District Central Cooperative Bank (headed by Ajit Pawar) and other banks, but the money was diverted for various other purposes.
Why are these parallels being made with Ajit Pawar?
In 2019, when a one-and-a-half-day alliance was formed between the BJP and the NCP, in which Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as chief minister and Ajit Pawar became deputy chief minister, there were reports in the media that Pawar had got a clean chit in the irrigation scam.
The scam dates back to the time when Pawar was the irrigation minister in Maharashtra during the Congress-NCP government. Pawar was accused of irregularities in the projects allotted by his ministry. The allegations included the claim that Ajit Pawar had awarded projects at inflated prices. Allegedly, it was a Rs 70,000 crore scam and Pawar had approved cost escalation of 32 irrigation projects.
What does NCP have to say on this?
The NCP spokesperson, whom News18.com contacted, said that Pawar has never shied away from the investigation.
“If called by the agency or if the agency wants to interrogate Ajit Pawar or know any details from him, he has always cooperated with the investigation and will always do so in future,” the spokesperson said.
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