Devendra Fadnavis uses pig analogy to counter Nawab Malik's hydrogen bomb

Mumbai, Nov 10: Opposition leader in Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday shared a quote by famous Irish playwright George Bernand Shaw to counter Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik, who accused him of patronising a fake currency racket and shielding people with underworld links during his tenure as chief minister.

"I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it!" read the post tweeted by Fadnavis.

Earlier in the day, Malik said while fake notes were seized in other states after demonetisation in 2016, there was not a single such instance in Maharashtra, when Fadnavis was the chief minister of the state.

Malik said on October 8, 2017, the Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized fake notes worth Rs 14.56 crore from the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai.

"But Fadnavis helped sweep the case under the carpet. The seized amount was later shown with a value of Rs 8.8 lakhs," Malik alleged, questioning why the case was not handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

"Incidentally, Sameer Wankhade (the Narcotics Control Bureau officer against whom Malik has levelled several serious allegations) was the DRI's joint director at that time," he added.

Malik said one Imran Alam Sheikh was arrested in this case. Later, his brother Haji Arfat Sheikh was made the chairman of the state minority commission, the minister claimed.

He alleged that Fadnavis appointed people with criminal background on several state boards.

The NCP minister said one Munna Yadav from Nagpur was made the chairman of the Maharashtra Construction Workers Welfare Board despite criminal charges like murder registered against him.

Malik and Fadnavis have been targeting each other with charges of underworld links. Both have denied any links with the underworld.