New Delhi: A video of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar speaking sternly to a woman IPS officer over alleged illegal excavation in Solapur has snowballed into a major political controversy, with the opposition accusing him of “threatening” an officer and the ruling alliance dismissing it as his “normal tone.”
The video shows Mr Pawar calling Karmala Sub-Divisional Police Officer Anjana Krishna on the phone of a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) worker. He is heard identifying himself as Deputy Chief Minister and instructing her to stop the police action. When the officer, who recently joined duty in Maharashtra, failed to recognise his voice, he warned her of “action” and insisted on a video call so that she could see and identify him.
“You are threatening an IPS officer. Mr Pawar is heard saying he will not tolerate indiscipline—then what is this? That too, to protect thieves from his own party,” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, demanding Pawar’s resignation. Raut alleged that by interfering in police work, the Finance Minister was effectively supporting illegal excavation of murrum—a soil material widely used in road construction—leading to losses for the state exchequer.
करमाळ्याच्या पोलिस उपअधिक्षक अंजली कृष्णा यांना उपमुख्यमंत्री अजित पवारांना फोनवरुन ओळखता आले नाही.
त्यानंतर रागावलेल्या अजित पवारांनी अंजली कृष्णा यांना खडेबोल सुनावत थेट व्हिडीओ काॅलच केला.#ajitpawar #AnjaliKrishna pic.twitter.com/ag2DNuf3do— Ankita Shantinath Khane (@KhaneAnkita) September 2, 2025
“Ajit Pawar has no moral right to remain in government. Maharashtra has been turned into a state of thieves,” Raut added, slamming ministers for making such calls using party workers’ phones.
Defending the Deputy Chief Minister, NCP state president Sunil Tatkare and BJP minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said Pawar did not issue threats but spoke in his usual style. “This is his normal tone… he never supports anything illegal,” Tatkare said. Bawankule echoed the defense, arguing that elected representatives often raise public grievances with authorities and that Pawar was merely trying to ensure justice.
The incident has, however, deepened fault lines in Maharashtra politics, with the opposition portraying it as abuse of power and the ruling coalition rallying behind its senior leader.