Mumbai: A day after junior home minister Yogesh Kadam warned that he would move a privilege notice against him for linking him to a Kandivli dance bar and alleged illegal sand mining in Ratnagiri, Sena (UBT) MLC Anil Parab on Tuesday dared him to do that and file a defamation suit, saying it would give him a platform to prove the charges he has levelled. Demanding Kadam’s ouster, Parab said he will submit all documents and pen drives showing proof of his involvement to CM Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday. He said Fadnavis should seek the Sena minister’s resignation because party chief and deputy CM Eknath Shinde would not initiate any action on his own. He said if the CM fails to act, he will move high court. Kadam maintained that he had no connection to the bar and that it was under his direction that police had acted against such establishments. “If I had any vested interest, I would have ensured no action was taken against this particular bar.” Last week, Parab had claimed in the legislative council that police had in May raided a dance bar in Kandivli whose license was issued in the name of Kadam’s mother and that he diverted sand meant for farmers from a river in Ratnagiri, his home district, to a dental college linked to his family. On Tuesday, he reiterated the allegations. “…There were women dancing [in the bar]. Money was being thrown. All this information is in police records and the FIR. I got this information under RTI Act. Therefore, it cannot be false. When the raid was conducted, action was taken against 22 bar dancers, 22 customers and four employees.” Trashing Kadam’s claim that he was not aware of the bar’s operations, Parab said, “They (Kadam and family) say they do not run the dance bar. As per the law, if a staffer or someone authorised by the owner commits a misdemeanour, the responsibility lies with the owner.” Alleging that all rules on bar operations have been violated, he said Kadam’s father, former minister Ramdas Kadam, sought to quell the controversy by claiming that there should not be a dispute since the bar is in his wife’s name. “The minister goes as far as Navi Mumbai to raid dance bars calling them obscene and anti-social, but a dance bar licensed in his mother’s name is running. Who will take action against it?” On the alleged diversion of sand, Parab said, “Sand was supposed to be removed from Mahadev river, but the company was removing it from Savitri river… After I raised the issue, the removal of sand was stopped.” Dismissing Parab’s charges as “baseless and defamatory”, Kadam said he would write to the legislative council chairperson, demanding that the MLC’s remarks in the House be expunged since they were made in his absence, thereby amounting to a violation of legislative rules.
