If Param Bir Singh is lying, Maha home minister should sack him: Somaiya

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya on Monday said former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh should be dismissed if his allegations are false, but if they are true, then Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh should quit.

"Home Minister Deshmukh says he will file a defamation case against Singh for accusing him of corruption. Instead he should fire Singh," Somaiya told reporters here.

"If allegations made by Singh are false, dismiss him. If the allegations are true, Anil Deshmukh should resign immediately," the former MP further said.

Somaiya also said while Deshmukh, an NCP leader, was accusing Singh of lying, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' praised the police officer.

"Uddhav Thackeray and (NCP chief) Sharad Pawar should free people from the clutches of this business of 'Vasuli' (extortion)," the BJP leader added.

He also claimed that vaccination against COVID-19 was not going well in Maharashtra.

"Though the Centre has given 72 lakh doses, only 40 lakh shots have been administered so far," he claimed.