Krupal Tumane accuses Ajit Pawar of involvement in corruption

Lok Sabha MP of the ruling Shiv Sena Krupal Tumane accused Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former minister Ajit Pawar of involvement in corruption, inviting a strong retort from the Maharashtra Opposition leader who asserted he will quit politics if the charges are proved.

Tumane's attack on Pawar came in the wake of the latter's reported comments at an NCP meeting last week in Nagpur where he asked party workers not to forget the alleged role played by money power in the Shiv Sena revolt last year and also spoke about voters teaching a lesson to gaddars' (a reference to Sena rebels).

The MP from Ramtek in Nagpur district, speaking to a TV channel here, said Pawar should first tell how many khoke (boxes of money) he collected when he served as finance minister of Maharashtra. Speaking to reporters in Pune, the NCP leader hit back at Tumane and said he would quit politics if corruption charges are proved against him. The former deputy chief minister challenged the Lok Sabha member to prove his graft charges against him or sit at home from tomorrow if he failed to do so.