NEW DELHI: Top Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders were holding deliberations here on Sunday to chart their response and course ahead following the sensational charges levelled by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.
Senior NCP leader and former Union Minister Praful Patel, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and state unit chief Jayant Patil reached NCP supremo Sharad Pawar's 6 Janpath residence to discuss the issue.
Sources said that Deshmukh will be asked to resign as Home Minister in wake of Singh's charges that he had asked controversial cop Sachin Vaze to collect Rs 100 crore every month for the party.
It is also learnt that senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath also visited Pawar's house and was there for about half an hour.
Pressure is building within Mahrashtra's ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi that Deshmukh should quit following that the former Mumbai Police Commissioner's allegations. The opposition BJP in the state has also vociferously demanded removal of Deshmukh.
Earlier addressing a press conference, Pawar said: "This is a really important and sensitive case. The allegations are made by an authority against the Home Minister and also there are series of lapses regarding confidential information leaked to certain sections of the media, which affected the reputation of the government."
"An in depth enquiry should be conducted by an officer or an individual who enjoys utmost respect of the police administration and the public at large," he said.
He suggested that former Maharashtra police chief and former Mumbai Police Commissioner, Julio Francis Ribeiro should be assigned to probe the issue.
"He (Ribeiro) has a great reputation and if he accepts this responsibility then the truth will definitely come to the fore and the public at large will start believing more in the police and in the government, in particular," Pawar said. (IANS)