AAP seeks probe into Maha top ex-bureaucrat's abrupt exit from govt

Mumbai: The Mumbai unit of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday demanded a probe into the circumstances leading to the sudden resignation of former bureaucrat Radheshyam Mopalwar from his current position as the Director of the War Room-Infrastructure Projects, of the Maharashtra government.

Reacting strongly to the development, AAP Mumbai President Preeti Sharma-Menon alleged that the real reasons behind Mopalwar's resignation is 'wholesale corruption' now coming to light.

"While some people are saying that he has quit to enter politics, the truth is that a lot of his corruption has surfaced but nothing is being probed. We demand that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis should probe his role in the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Mahamarg scam and others," said Sharma-Menon.

She contended that on the Mumbai-Nagpur super expressway project, many contracts and benefits were passed onto Mopalwar's cronies and even to his relatives, and other wrongdoings.

"Rather than making a virtue out of necessity, the state government should investigate all the corruption by Mopalwar… even the Anti-Corruption Bureau should be vigilant when a senior officer decides to quit hastily," she said.

An IAS officer of the 1995 cadre, Mopalwar retired on February 28, 2018, as the Vice-Chairman of the crucial Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).

Thereafter, he continued on several extensions in the post till November 2023, and he also was appointed on contract as the Director of the War Room, overseen by the CM, which he quit on Thursday.

Speculation is rife in officialdom that Mopalwar may now start a new innings by jumping into politics, and possibly contest the 2024 Lok Sabha or Assembly elections on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket.

During his long career in MSRDC, Mopalwar worked under five Chief Ministers – Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan (both Congress), Devendra Fadnavis (BJP), Uddhav Thackeray (Maha Vikas Aghadi) and Eknath Shinde (MahaYuti) – and has held several high-ranking key posts in the administration.