Opposition leader raises graft allegations

Nagpur: Opposition leader Dhananjay Munde during his speech in the state council on Thursday levelled serious allegations of corruption against state information and technology which is under chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ charge. “The Innowave Company, which failed completely in the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme for students, has been given the work of the loan waiver scheme. This is a scam unfolding under CM Fadnavis’ very nose when it is his duty to investigate the matter,” Mr Munde alleged.

In his speech, Mr Munde also levelled allegations against the state women and child welfare department over tenders for sanitary napkins. “The company which got tenders in the chilli scam has been given work worth Rs 1,044 crore for sanitary napkins. This is a mega scam. The tenders’ process was fudged and changed thrice to enable this scam,” he claimed.

Mr Munde’s chief target was the Innowave Company, which has stirred heated political debate over the mess in the loan waiver scheme. “Work which was given to the Innowave Company in the DBT student scholarship scheme is the best example of how tenders can be fudged for specific companies. Many times, rules of the tender process were changed for this Innowave Company. But at the end, the government fell flat in the DBT scheme,” alleged Mr Munde.

He questioned how the state government had allotted another tender to a company which had failed in its earlier assignment. “In his reply, Mr Fadnavis must answer this question. Innowave has created a mess in the loan waiver scheme. Farmers are facing problems. Still, if this government wants to protect this company, people will start questioning the CM himself. Therefore, this issue must be investigated," Mr Munde demanded.

The opposition leader raised questions over the women and child welfare department’s distribution of tenders for sanitary napkins. “On November 14, I have written specifically to the CM, alerting him about a possible scam. The company which had received work in the chikki scam is the same company which has been given the sanitary napkins contract. Rs 29 crore for one month is not a small amount. This tender is for three years, which means that the amount goes up to Rs 1044 crore. This is a scam and it must be investigated thoroughly,” demanded Mr Munde. The CM will respond to this on Friday.