'Itni daring...' Did Maharashtra DyCM Ajit Pawar rebuke woman IPS officer over phone during op? NCP responds

Mumbai: A video of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has gone viral, allegedly showing him in a heated exchange with a woman Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who was acting against illegal soil excavation in Solapur.

What does the video show?

The two-minute clip, recorded on 31 August, features Mr Pawar purportedly speaking to Anjana Krishna, a sub-divisional police officer, through the phone of a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) worker.

In the footage, Mr Pawar can reportedly be heard saying: “Suno, mai deputy chief minister bol raha hu aur aapko aadesh deta hu ki vo rokwao (Listen, I am the deputy chief minister and giving you the order to stop it).”

Ms Krishna, a native of Kerala who recently took charge in Maharashtra, did not recognise his voice and asked him to call her directly on her mobile phone.

Mr Pawar then added: “Mai tere upar action lunga (I will take action against you).”

How did the officer respond?

The video shows Ms Krishna standing in a field alongside some NCP workers when Mr Pawar continued: “Tujhe mujhe dekhna hai na. Tera number de do ya WhatsApp call karo. Mera chehra toh aapko samajh me aaega na (You want to see me, right? Give me your number or call me on WhatsApp. You will recognise my face, right?).”

He further asked: “Itna aapko daring hua hai kya (how dare you).”

Mr Pawar then appeared to make a video call to Ms Krishna and purportedly asked her to halt the operation against the excavation.

How has the party responded?

Nationalist Congress Party MP Sunil Tatkare suggested that the clip had been released intentionally.

“Ajit Dada may have chided the IPS officer to placate party workers. He didn’t mean to stop the action completely,” he said.

Defending Mr Pawar’s reputation, Mr Tatkare added that the Deputy Chief Minister is known for his blunt style of speaking and does not endorse unlawful practices.

“He perhaps meant to stop the action briefly just to defuse the situation,” he said.

PTI Inputs