Anil Deshmukh

Anil Deshmukh
File:Anil Deshmukh HM.jpg
Minister of Home Affairs, District Guardian Minister of Gondia District Government of Maharashtra
Incumbent
Assumed office 30 December 2019
Chief Minister	Uddhav Thackeray
Preceded by	Devendra Fadnavis
Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Katol, Maharashtra
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 October 2019
Preceded by	Ashish Deshmukh
In office March 1995 – October 2014 (four terms)
Preceded by	Sunil Shinde
Succeeded by	Ashish Deshmukh
Minister of Food & Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Government of Maharashtra
In office October 2009 – October 2014
Chief Minister	Ashok Chavan Prithviraj Chavan
Succeeded by	Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar
Minister of Public Works Department Government of Maharashtra
In office October 2004 – October 2009
Chief Minister	Vilasrao Deshmukh
Minister of State for School Education, Information and Public Relations and Sports & Youth affairs Government of Maharashtra
In office October 1999 – October 2004
Chief Minister	Vilasrao Deshmukh
Minister of State for Education and Culture Government of Maharashtra
In office March 1995 – October 1999
Chief Minister	Manohar Joshi
Personal details
Born	(1950-05-09) 9 May 1950 Katol, Maharashtra, India
Residence	Nagpur

Anil Vasantrao Deshmukh is the Home Minister of Maharashtra from the NCP, and has been Member of 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th and 14th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, representing Katol (Vidhan Sabha constituency).

He also served as the Minister of Food & Civil supplies and Consumer affairs and Minister of Public Works Department in Government of Maharashtra. He earlier also served as Minister of State for School Education, Information and Public Relations and Sports & Youth affairs and Minister of State for Education and Culture in Government of Maharashtra.

Early life and family

Deshmukh hails from the village of Vad Vihira near Katol in Nagpur district. He attended Katol High school. Later, he attended The College of Agriculture, Nagpur and received a master of science degree in Agriculture awarded by Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth Akola. He adopted Varsha, an orphan girl from ‘Shri Shankar Baba Papalkar's ashram’ and performed kanyadaan ritual during her wedding.

Political career

Deshmukh served as chairman of Nagpur Zilla Parishad during initial years of his political career. He first got elected to Maharashtra state assembly in 1995 from Katol as an independent candidate. He represented that constituency until 2014. He served as Minister of state in the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition government in 1995. His portfolios in that government included Education, and Culture. He later joined the Nationalist Congress Party, a party formed in 1999. When the NCP / Congress alliance came to power in Maharashtra in 1999, he initially served as Minister of State for School Education, Information and Public Relations, Sports & Youth Welfare.Later he was promoted as a Cabinet Minister in the state government. As a cabinet minister from 2001 to 2014, he was responsible for different government departments. These included:

• Excise, Food & Drugs, Maharashtra State,(2001 to March 2004)
• Public Works (Public Undertakings), Maharashtra State (2004 to 2008)
• Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, Maharashtra State (2009 -2014)

Deshmukh lost the Katol seat to his nephew, Ashish Deshmukh in 2014 assembly elections. However, he regained the Katol seat as the NCP candidate in the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections. Deshmukh was appointed Home minister of Maharashtra when the Mahavikas alliance of NCP, Shiv sena and Congress under chief minister, Uddhav Thackeray came to power in November 2019. In addition to his portfolio, Deshmukh is also the Guardian Minister of Gondia district.

From 1995 to 1999

• Minister of State for School Education, Higher & Technical Education, Cultural Affairs, Maharashtra State.
• Ban on Private Coaching Classes -

He started the initiative to regulate the burgeoning private coaching classes, where the teachers who are in regular service of Government or Private Schools were also running private Coaching institutions by advertising and misleading parents and children with their false claims, like Chate Coaching Classes and gaikwad coaching classes etc in aurangabad.

• Started 'Maharashtra a highest and prestigious Bhushan Award -

It is the highest civilian award of Maharashtra state presented annually by the state government.

Recipient of this prestigious award:
1) Renowned Marathi writer Late Shri P.L. Deshpande
2) Legendary Singer Smt. Lata Mangeshkar
3) Little Master Shri Sunil Gavaskar.

• Reduced weight of school bags - Initiated a drive for reducing the Weight of School Bags.

From 1999 to 2001

• Minister of State for School Education, Information and Public Relations, Sports & Youth Welfare, Maharashtra State

He felicitated and rewarded Weightlifter "Karnam Malleswari" with Rs. 51 lakhs prize. She is the first Indian woman who clinched a bronze medal at the Olympics in the year 2000 in Sydney.
During this period he also began the construction of India's second-largest air-conditioned Indoor Sports Stadium at Nagpur.

From 2001 to 2004

• Cabinet Minister for State Excise, Food & Drugs, Maharashtra State

As a cabinet minister, he enacted the law in the State to ban GUTKHA, which contains carcinogens and has elevated health risks.

From 2004 to 2008

• Minister for Public Works (Public Undertakings), Maharashtra State

The project of BANDRA WORLI SEA LINK- It is a 4.7 km long, twin 4-lane carriageway built using state-of-the-art segmental technology. This project has single-handedly expanded the realm of infrastructural possibilities in India. It is possibly the most ambitious infrastructure project in the country. As a PWD minister, he has contributed yet another world-class landmark to the country.

From 2019

Minister of Home Affairs, Maharashtra State
As a minister of Home Affairs, he proposed the establishment of a specialized covid19 center for the police personnel infected with covid19.

Dec 2019 - Present

Minister of Home Affairs, Maharashtra State

• As a home minister, he tabled the proposed ‘Shakti Act’ bill to curb violence against women and children in the Legislative Assembly on the 1st day of the Winter Session. He also took a decision to ask for feedback from Women’s rights organizations, legal experts, and citizens before the implementation of the Shakti Act Bill.
• As a Home Minister, he introduced the ‘Self Balancing Electric Scooters’ (#Segway) for Mumbai police personnel that would help them while on patrolling duty.
• He became the first home minister to attend the complaint calls at the Pune city control room on Midnight of 31 December & also celebrated New Year with police personnel and acknowledged their work.
• As a home minister, he declared Rs 50 lakh ex gratia to the families of police personnel who lost their lives in the fight against coronavirus.
• During the Maha Vikas Aghadi Government regime, he also proffered one-rank promotion for the fourteen police officers for their historic valor and courageous act of capturing terrorists during the 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks.
• To keep an eye on #Covid19 lockdown violators in densely populated and slum areas, he deployed drones that helped Mumbai police personnel to ensure that social distancing is strictly enforced to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
• It s claimed that he is the first-ever Home Minister of the state to visit the Regional Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Pune and spent time interacting with the staff and discussed ways to equip the Laboratory with the latest technology.

Ministerial positions held Government of Maharashtra

SI No.	Year	Legislative Assembly	Constituency	Margin	Party	Post
1.	1995	9th	Katol		Independent	Minister of State for Education and Culture.
2.	1999	10th	Katol		Nationalist Congress Party	Minister of State for School Education, Information and Public Relations and Sports & Youth affairs.
3.	2004	11th	Katol		Nationalist Congress Party	Minister of Public Works Department.
4.	2009	12th	Katol		Nationalist Congress Party	Minister of Food & Civil supplies and Consumer affairs.
Lost the elections held in September 2014 to BJP's Ashish Deshmukh.
5.	2019	14th	Katol		Nationalist Congress Party	Minister of Home affairs.

Controversies

Accusations by ex-police commissioner of Mumbai Param Bir Singh were leveled, stating in a letter in March 2021 that Sachin Vaze was asked by Anil Deshmukh to collect Rs 100 crores per month from hoteliers and bar owners. The former Mumbai police commissioner M N Singh has commented on letter saying "from the contents of the letter, it appears that our police personnel have become robbers and extortionists in uniform."

Rashmi Shukla, the Commissioner of State Intelligence (COI) has written a letter to the Maharashtra DGP, Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, on August 25, 2020, claiming a network of brokers involved in transferring police officers in exchange for money. The Maharashtra NCP housing minister Jitendra Ahwad has claimed that Rashmi Shukla had tapped phones illegally.

See also

• 2021 Mukesh Ambani/Antilia bomb scare case