The credibility and integrity of firebrand BJP leader Suresh Dhas is at stake following his marathon meeting with his political archrival Dhananjay Munde. Social activists described the meeting as a "setting".
Dhas came into the limelight after he stepped into the agitation against Munde following the murder of Massajog sarpanch Sanjay Deshmukh. Deshmukh was murdered on Dec 9, 2024, after he allegedly opposed an extortion attempt targeting an energy firm installing windmills in the area. A group of villagers lodged a protest against the murder, and then Dhas and Mumbai-based social activist Anjali Damania stepped in, saying the main accused has direct links with Munde.
NCP (SP) legislator Jitendra Awhad was the first to demand Munde's resignation when the agitation was at its peak and it appeared that deputy CM Ajit Pawar would sack Munde at any moment.
Dhas, along with state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, had a meeting with Munde, which was followed by another between Dhas and Munde. Dhas described the meeting as a courtesy call since Munde was undergoing a surgical procedure. Damania and Awhad did not buy into it, and Maratha activist Manoj Jarange alleged that it was a direct attempt to suppress the sarpanch murder case.
The vocal Dhas has been on the backfoot since his secret meetings with Bawankule and Munde came to light in the electronic media.
The Deshmukh family has been left speechless. They had been banking on Dhas, who has left them high and dry.
Leadership void in BESTOver two months since Anil Diggikar's exit from BEST, CM Devendra Fadnavis has been unable to find a suitable successor for the 1990 batch IAS officer. Alarmed by alleged mismanagement in BEST, Fadnavis had on Dec 31 shunted Diggikar out just nine months after he took charge.
Industries secretary Harshadeep Kamble was posted in his place, but he did not take up his new assignment for a long time and was posted as principal secretary in the social justice department. On Feb 6, Dharavi Redevelopment Project chief executive officer SVR Srinivas, an IAS officer from the 1991 batch, was given the additional charge as BEST's general manager.
It's for the first time in the recent past that BEST, which ferries over 3.5 million passengers daily, has been headless for such a long time. A former chief secretary said it is high time that govt came out with a posting and transfer policy for IAS officers. Bureaucrats are posted in social and infrastructure sectors by rotation so that all work in both and the infrastructure sector does not become the monopoly of a few.
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