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The move to drop Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance charges against suspected Al Qaeda terrorist Mohammed Afroz on Thursday snowballed into a major controversy with the ruling Nationalist Congress Party warning its major partner Congress party to restrain its ministers from hurling charges against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal.
The controversy surrounding withdrawal of POTO charges against Afroz has brought in sharp focus the differences between Congress and NCP with leaders of both parties trading charges.
Ministers of State for Home -- Kripashankar Singh and Manikrao Thakre -- both belonging to Congress party, recently made statements contradicting their senior colleague Bhujbal.
While Singh said that Bhujbal had directed the police to invoke POTO against the suspected Al Qaeda terrorist, Thakre had stated that nothing will come out of the probe ordered by Bhujbal into the events leading to dropping of anti-terrorism charges against Afroz.
Bhujbal lodged a strong protest with Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and the latter has assured that he would ask his ministers to restrain from making such statements, NCP spokesman Vasant Chavan said.
Bhujbal reportedly told the chief minister that NCP ministers were also capable of hurling accusations against their counterparts belonging to the Congress party.
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