Fair election in Maharashtra not possible under DGP Rashmi Shukla: Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday said that the Maharashtra Assembly election cannot be conducted fairly if Rashmi Shukla, whom he alleged is biased towards the BJP, remains at the helm of the state police force.

"There is a very serious allegation against the state's Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla. In 2019, when our government was being formed, this Director General of Police, who was directly working for the Bharatiya Janata Party, was tapping all our phones and giving full information to Devendra Fadnavis about what we were going to do," Raut told reporters.

"Can we expect her to conduct fair elections? We have said that the reins of elections should not be given to her, and then the Election Commission said that they do not have the right (to transfer). How can this happen? At the same time, Jharkhand's DGP was changed. Maharashtra's election is being conducted based on police pressure," he added.

On Thursday, Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, requesting the removal of Rashmi Shukla from her position.

In the letter, Patole accused DGP Shukla of displaying a "clear bias" against opposition parties in the state, including Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP(SP). He alleged that, in the past 20 days, Maharashtra has witnessed numerous incidents of political violence targeting opposition leaders, with cases reportedly escalating.

Dated October 31, the letter reads, "Kindly refer to our previous letters dated 24th September 2024 and 4th October 2024 concerning the removal of Rashmi Shukla from the post of Director General of Police, Maharashtra. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) reiterated this request during a briefing with the Election Commission of India (ECI) on 27th September 2024."

The letter continued, "This request has been repeatedly submitted through oral representations and press conferences. While the DGP of Jharkhand was removed immediately after the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was enforced, DGP Maharashtra was exempted. Over the past 20 days, political violence against opposition parties has significantly escalated, with a notable deterioration in the law and order situation. She has shown a clear bias against the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP(SP), as evidenced by her previous record of illegal phone tapping of opposition leaders while serving as Commissioner of Police, Pune, and Commissioner of the State Intelligence Department (SID)."

The Maharashtra Assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with counting for all 288 constituencies set for November 23. In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, the Shiv Sena 56, and the Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP secured 122 seats, the Shiv Sena 63, and the Congress 42.