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Maharashtra Cong. MLA denies being kidnapped

By Mahesh Vijapurkar

MAHARASHTRA June 9. The Congress(I) rebel MLA, Padmakar Valvi, who was alleged to have been kidnapped by members of the Shiv Sena-BJP combine, has said that he was with them of his own free will.

After the MLA's wife, Yogita Valvi, complained that her husband had been kidnapped, the Governor, P.C. Alexander, had ordered a probe. The police report would be submitted tomorrow, sources said.

But the Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh, wondered why Mr. Valvi was not allowed to meet the media alone if he had switched sides voluntarily.

Ms. Yogita told mediapersons today that she would meet her husband only in a police station, the Commissioner's office or the Raj Bhavan.

In another twist to the incident, Mr. Valvi said that he had not asked his wife to file any complaint with the Governor. The BJP leader, Gopinath Munde, said that what Ms. Yogita had submitted to the Governor "under pressure" was "a false complaint".

The NCP cited this incident to defend its move to shift its MLAs to Indore and Bangalore, "out of reach of the BJP-Shiv Sena's attempts at intimidation". But the Sena-BJP combine denied having put pressure on anyone, including Mr. Valvi. It said he had come over on his own. His wife had complained "only because of the pressure exerted on her and her family by a Congress(I) Minister, Sarupsingh Naik, at whose house she met the media and who had accompanied her to the Raj Bhavan on Saturday. The CM and Deputy CM were also with her then."

Mr. Deshmukh said that Mr. Valvi, defectors from the Nationalist Congress Party and Independents were being held at a suburban resort amid "private security and goondas" while Sena-BJP MLAs were housed en masse elsewhere.

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• Little to celebrate for the NCP
• Bhujbal meets MLAs
• Deshmukh flies down to Bangalore
• Maharashtra Cong. MLA denies being kidnapped
• NCP leader calls for `conscience vote'

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