Senior Sena leader Ramdas Kadam denies furnishing ‘proofs’ to BJP’s Kirit Somaiya against party colleague Minister Anil Parab

Kadam argues that the purported audio clip as ‘doctored’ and that it was not his voice

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Pune: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Vaibhav Khedekar on Saturday created a sensation by releasing a series of audio clips purportedly attributed to senior Shiv Sena leader and former Minister Ramdas Kadam. Khedekar claimed that the senior Sena leader had allegedly furnished ‘proof’ of irregularities against his own party colleague and incumbent Minister for Public Transport Anil Parab through Prasad Karve, an RTI activist to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dr Kirit Somaiya.

The senior Sena leader (Ramdas Kadam) denounced the purported audio clips released by MNS leader Vaibhav Khedekar and former NCP MLA Sanjay Kadam (both of whom are from Dapoli in Ratnagiri district in the Konkan region) as ‘doctored’. He further announced that he would be moving the court against those who had attempted to defame him.  

Kadam said that Khedekar, a municipal councilor and general secretary of the MNS, had previously attempted to throw the muck at him as he had been consistently exposing alleged scams involving the MNS leader. 

He further claimed that he had not met Somaiya for nearly two decades and that his relations with his party colleague Parab are “extremely cordial”. “Anil Parab has been consistently helping my son (Dapoli MLA Yogesh Kadam) in the Konkan…our relationship is very close and we are family friends,” said Ramdas Kadam. 

In one of the clips, which purportedly details an undated conversation between a person believed to be Ramdas Kadam and the RTI activist Prasad Karve. The alleged audio clip has the Sena leader expressing approval on learning that the Lokayukta had ordered the demolition of Parab’s (apparently illegally constructed) office in Bandra.

The voice, alleged to be Ramdas Kadam’s, is heard stating that minister Anil Parab would now have to resign after this (demolition) incident as a police case and a probe was imminent, with the person believed to be Karve is heard informing the Sena leader that Somaiya would be duly filing the case against Parab.  

“This is utterly contemptible… Even before this, I have been targeted by Khedekar as me and my son (Yogesh Kadam) have exposed his (Khedekar’s) shady financial dealings… Furthermore, I have nothing to do with this person called Prasad Karve and have not met Somaiya in the last 15-20 years,” said Ramdas Kadam, vehemently denying that the voice in the audio clips was his. 

He further accused Khedekar of producing such ‘doctored’ audio clips in the past as well and using them ahead of local elections in a bid to defame him within the party and with other communities. 

Hitting out against Sanjay Kadam (who had released the clips with Khedekar), Ramdas Kadam alleged that the former NCP MLA was bitter as his son (Yogesh Kadam) had defeated Sanjay Kadam’s son in the 2019 Assembly elections. 

Transport minister Anil Parab is considered to be a close confidante of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. The Sena minister had recently appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after dismissed assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze, in his statement, had claimed that Parab had allegedly received crores of rupees through Nagpur’s deputy regional transport officer Bajrang Kharmate as kickbacks for effecting police transfers. 

Anil Parab has also been targeted by Somaiya over allegedly ‘illegal’ constructions in the Konkan and elsewhere following which the Shiv Sena leader had filed a defamation suit against the BJP leader seeking Rs. 100 crores in damages. The Bombay High Court on Friday had issued a summons to Somaiya, directing either him or his advocate to be present in court on December 23 in connection with Parab’s defamation suit against him.