Mumbai, July 18 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday strongly rejected Opposition’s claim about a honeytrap scandal involving 72 officials and some ministers of the state, saying “there is no honey and no trap”.

Speaking in the Assembly, he asked the opposition and Congress legislator Nana Patole to come with concrete proof and solid information to corner the government. He reiterated that there was no honeytrap scandal.

CM Fadnavis said that a complaint was filed by a woman against deputy collector in Nashik but the complainant has thereafter withdrawn it.

Referring to Patole’s repeated reference about the Hotel owner allegedly involved in hatching the trap and blackmail the victims, CM Fadnavis displayed a ‘relevant paper’ in the House, saying that the hotel owner in question is a local Congress unit chief.

He thereby put the ball in the Congress party’s court.

CM Fadnavis said that Maharashtra is cultured state and there is no threat to it. “However, those who are poisoning the atmosphere need to be controlled.”

Earlier, Patole on Wednesday and Thursday raked up the Honeytrap scandal issue in the state assembly.

CM’s statement denying honey trap scandal was in the wake of Speaker’s directive.

Patole raised the Honeytrap scandal targeting Maharashtra’s high ranking officers and politicians and displayed a pen drive. Patole, who is a former assembly Speaker, did not stop there but said he is ready to show the content in the pen drive to the government.

Patole warned that it would be detrimental to the state if the confidential and sensitive information has been leaked during the Honeytrap scandal.

“Through honey trap, important documents of the state are in the hands of anti-social elements. I do not want to defame anyone. But the government is not serious about all this. The government is not ready to give even a simple statement,” he said.

“More than 72 officials and some ministers of the state have been caught in the net of honeytrap. Confidential information is being collected from the honeytrappers. Also, some officials have been blackmailed and have thought of extreme things like suicide. The government is not ready to say anything on this. That is why I raised this issue in the Legislative Assembly,” said Patole.

He also expressed serious displeasure over state government’s reluctance to make statement explaining what action has been taken in this case. He brought to the Speaker’s notice that despite his directive the government has not made any statement on Thursday. Patole urged the Speaker to give strong directives to immediately make a statement.

NCP-SP legislator Jayant Patil had said that the Nashik honey trap case is a serious one. He also demanded that the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister make statements on all these cases.

–IANS

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