MUMBAI: A day after BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis alleged that Nawab Malik had links with the underworld, the NCP spokesperson and skill development minister Nawab Malik on Tuesday launched a frontal attack against the former chief minister, saying “no one has guts to point fingers at him”.
“I am challenging Fadnavis; he must prove [links with the underworld] or tender an apology,” said Malik. “I have been in public life for more than four decades and a resident of Mumbai for 62 years, but till date no one has cast aspersions on my character. Fadnavis said he will burst crackers after Diwali, I am saying, why wait, do it as early as possible,” he added.
Malik said that if he does have links with the underworld, then Fadnavis should have conducted a probe against him when he was CM and made the evidence public. Instead, Malik said, Fadnavis maintained a discreet silence, now suddenly he is making allegations after a photograph of his wife Amruta with an alleged drug peddler, Jaideep Rana, has surfaced. Malik further claimed during the tenure of Fadnavis, lavish parties were organised in a five-star hotel in central Mumbai.
Targeting Wankhede on his alleged expensive taste, Malik claimed that it is difficult to believe that a government employee can afford such costly clothes. “I am told his shirt is worth Rs 50,000 and trousers Rs 1 lakh.”