This comes after Parab was caught on camera directing police to arrest Union Minister Narayan Rane. BJP had said it was a “flagrant misuse” of power and that the party was studying legal action against it.
Who is Anil Parab?
Anil Parab, 56, is a three-time Shiv Sena lawmaker on the Maharashtra Legislative Council, the upper house of the state legislature.
He was admitted to the state cabinet by Shiv Sena’s chief minister, Uddhav Thackeray, in December 2019.
Parab, an advocate by profession, is known for his loyalty to the Thackeray. Aside from his aggressive political style, he deals with party legal issues and plays a crucial role in civic elections.
He has been the Vibhag Pramukh (head of division) since 2001 and is the only leader who is entrusted with two divisions, his area of action spanning the entire region, from Bandra to Andheri, a huge stretch of the western suburbs. .
So why has Parab been in the news recently?
Last week, Parab was trapped in the camera directing police officers to arrest Union Minister Narayan Rane.
Parab, Ratnagiri’s guardian minister, was at a press conference on Tuesday during which he broke up to hold two telephone conversations.
During his second call, which was apparently addressed to a police officer, the Minister of State for Transport was heard demanding Rane’s arrest.
“Hello, what are you doing? But you have to do it. Did you stop him or not? What order do they order? The high court and the session court have rejected his bail (application) … then they use the police force “, Parab was heard.
Subsequently, BJP said it was studying legal action against Minister Shiv Sena. The party said Parab was indulging in a “blatant misuse” of power by pressuring police to arrest Rane.
But why is Parab under the ED scanner?
Party sources said Parab had been asked to appear before the ED on Tuesday. But it is unclear from now on why Parab has been convened.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut tweeted: “As expected, Anil Parab received a notification from the ED as soon as Jan Ashirwad Yatra concluded. The central government has begun its work “The epicenter of the earthquake was Ratnagiri (in reference to Rane’s arrest) and Parab is the guardian minister of this district. Understand the chronology. This is a legal battle that we will fight legally.”
Has Parab previously faced allegations of corruption?
The Maharashtra minister has been under scanning after former Bombay police officer Sachin Waze, in a letter he tried to present to the NIA court, had claimed that Parab had asked him to carry out an extortion for a value of 50 million euros from a private trust.
He also alleged that Parab told him to examine the investigation against the fraudulent contractors listed in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and asked him to charge “at least 2 million euros” to about 50 such contractors.
Parab has denied all allegations.
A suspended motor vehicle inspector from the Nashik Regional Transport Office (RTO), Gajendra Patil, had also charged Parab and six agents with corruption, amounting to millions, in connection with transfers and shipments to the RTO.
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Why is Parab so important to the Shiv Sena?
Parab gained prominence in 2017 after Shiv Sena and BJP broke the alliance and fought the Mumbai civic elections separately. During the election, Parab countered all BJP attacks, including his attempt to corner Sena for allegations of corruption in BMC.
A few months later, Parab was appointed leader of the party group on the legislative council after leaving the party’s high leaders.
Over the years, Parab’s closeness to Matoshree increased, and he gained the confidence of party leader Uddhav Thackeray by playing important roles in the party. He also played a key role in the party’s electoral strategies for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies polls in 2019.
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In December 2019, Thackeray sidelined senior leaders and offered the ministerial berthing to Parab. Since then, he has become the party’s problem-solving tool and has attacked the BJP for various problems.
The party leadership consults Parab on all important matters such as housing issues, legal, BMC, governance and anything else that is important to the party.
Because of the crucial role he has played since joining the state cabinet in 2019 and his loyalty to the Thackerays, Parab has often found himself on the opposition’s front line.