Following rebellion by nephew Ajit Pawar who joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government and took charge as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state on Sunday, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday hit out at the BJP asking why the saffron party allied with the NCP, despite calling them “corrupt”.
“You (BJP) called the NCP corrupt. So, why have you allied with the NCP now?…Whatever happened to Uddhav Thackeray has been repeated,” Sharad Pawar said.
Addressing the crowd at the YB Chavan Centre in Mumbai, the 83-year-old leader said that the party needs to keep marching despite hurdles its way, in a jibe to Ajit Pawar and NCP MLAs defection.
“Today, the entire country is watching us…This meeting is historic for NCP. We have to keep marching ahead despite the hurdles in our way,” Sharad Pawar said.
“We don’t have hunger for power; we will keep working for the people,” he added.
On the breakaway decision by the Ajit Pawar faction, Sharad Pawar said, “We weren’t taken into confidence by the MLAs who decided to split. Ajit Pawar faction has not followed any procedure.”
“The party symbol is with us, it is not going anywhere. The people and party workers who brought us to power are with us,” the NCP chief added.
Earlier, in the day, a meeting led by Sharad Pawar saw the presence of 13 MLAs, 3 MLCs and 5 MPs which was held at the YB Chavan centre in Mumbai today.
The 13 MLAs include Anil Deshmukh, Rohit Pawar, Rajendra Shingne, Ashok Pawar, Kiran Lahmate, Prajakta Tanpure, Balasaheb Patil, Jitendra Awhad, Chetan Vithal Tupe, Jayant Patil, Rajesh Tope, Sandeep Kshirsagar and Devendra Bhuyar. The 5 MPs include Srinivas Patil (Lok Sabha), Supriya Sule (Lok Sabha), Amol Kolhe (Lok Sabha), Fauzia Khan (Rajya Sabha) and Vandana Chavan (Rajya Sabha).
The 3 MLCs include Shashikant Shinde, Babajani Durani, and Eknath Khadse.
Meanwhile, the Ajit camp also held a meeting of NCP MPs, MLAs, MLCs, district heads and state delegates at Mumbai Education Trust (MET) in Bandra, Mumbai.
(With agencies input)
