Venugopal slams Pawar over ‘threatening’ call to IPS officer

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on Saturday hit out at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar for his remarks to IPS officer Anjana Krishna, calling the episode a reflection of the “arrogant culture” of those in power.

In a post on X, Venugopal said Pawar’s conduct towards Krishna, who was leading a crackdown on illegal sand mining, exposed how members of the ruling NDA were “high on their own power”.

“This is a classic example of how the brazenly arrogant culture set at the top percolates down to others in the hierarchy. Instead of applauding an officer for cracking down on corrupt activities, Pawar thought it fit to lambast her and obstruct her efforts,” he wrote.

Venugopal dismissed Pawar’s later explanation as a “face-saving measure”, noting that the Deputy CM had not apologised for his “rude and unbecoming conduct”.

The row began after a video circulated online showing Pawar in a heated exchange with Krishna, a sub-divisional police officer posted in Solapur. In the clip, dated August 31, Pawar can be heard using the phone of a local NCP worker to instruct Krishna to stop an operation against illegal mining.

“I am the Deputy Chief Minister, and I order you to stop this immediately,” he said. When Krishna, unaware at first who was on the line, asked him to call her directly, Pawar appeared to lose his cool and threatened: “I will take action against you.”

He reportedly added: “So you want to see me, is it? Give me your number or make a WhatsApp call. Then you’ll recognise my face. How dare you speak like this?” Pawar later made a video call to Krishna and directly instructed her to halt the operation.