Opposition Seeks Cyber Cell Probe in Maharashtra Budget 'Leak' on Finance Minister's Twitter Account

Mumbai: Opposition legislators on Wednesday demanded a probe by the cyber cell into the alleged "leak" of Maharashtra budget provisions on Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar's Twitter handle before presentation in the Assembly.

NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) leader Jayant Patil said in the state Assembly that the budget provisions were known outside before the finance minister's presentation in the Lower House on Tuesday. He lamented that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Mungantiwar justified the tweets.

Fadnavis and Mungantiwar on Tuesday dismissed the budget "leak" charge, saying the provisions were put out on Twitter 15 minutes after the finance minister began his budget speech in the Assembly.

"This is not justified," Patil said and demanded that the cyber-crime investigation cell probe the alleged leak. To this, Speaker Haribhau Bagade said he would accept the demand for a probe if sufficient proof was submitted.

Earlier, several lawmakers, including NCP's Ajit Pawar, Patil and Dhananjay Munde, held a demonstration over the issue in the state legislature premises. "The government leaked the budget on Twitter even before it was presented before the legislature by Mungantiwar on Tuesday. We are protesting against the government's irresponsible approach. We want a probe into the matter by the cyber cell," Munde said.