Ajit says no decision on Malik yet; opposition targets BJP over another NCP leader

A day after deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis objected to the induction of NCP leader Nawab Malik in the ruling alliance in a strongly worded letter, Ajit Pawar clarified that the legislator has not yet joined his party

A day after deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis objected to the induction of NCP leader Nawab Malik in the ruling alliance in a strongly worded letter, Ajit Pawar clarified that the legislator has not yet joined his party.

Ajit says no decision on Malik yet; opposition targets BJP over another NCP leader

“Malik is out on bail on health grounds. Let him make his decision. Then we will decide on his inclusion in the party,” Pawar told reporters on Friday.

He added it was speaker Rahul Narwekar who decides who sits where in the assembly, in an apparent reference to the opposition who made a hue and cry over Malik sitting on the treasury bench on the first day of the legislature’s winter session in Nagpur.

In his defence, Malik told reporters that he had not yet picked any side among the two NCP factions. “I am neutral as of now.”

However, the whole controversy over Malik’s surprise appearance in the assembly has caused disquiet in the three-party coalition government and at the same time has given enough ammunition to the opposition to corner the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over its nationalism claim.

Stepping up the offensive, the opposition on Friday raked up NCP leader Praful Patel’s alleged links with gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s aide Iqbal Mirchi and questioned BJP whether Malik was being targeted just because of his religion.

“Ajit Pawar faction’s national leader Praful Patel is facing charges of having links with Mirchi. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached Patel’s properties in this case. He recently met union home minister Amit Shah and was also seen receiving Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Gondia airport. I am happy that you have taken a stand against ‘anti-national’ Nawab Malik, but the question is whether you have a similar stand on Patel,” Ambadas Danve, leader of opposition in the council, wrote in a letter to Fadnavis.

Danve, a Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, also asked Fadnavis to clear his stand on Patel, an MP from Rajya Sabha.

Malik was being targeted because he was a Muslim, said state Congress chief Nana Patole and called Fadnavis’s show of nationalism sham.

“If BJP has objections to taking Malik on board, how can they tolerate ‘corrupt’ Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel who has links with Mirchi? Malik is being targeted because he is a Muslim. If Malik is anti-national for his links with Dawood, how can another leader with similar links be a nationalist?” he asked.

Patel, who met Fadnavis on Friday, said the allegations were being levelled out of frustration after the humiliating defeat in three state assembly elections.

“The opposition has realised that even in 2024 Modi will return as prime minister and they have not been able to swallow this fact. They should concentrate on their political prospects and get their house in order. Our three-party government is doing well under the leadership of Eknath Shinde, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar,” he said.

Coming to Fadnavis’s defence, state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the deputy CM’s letter to Ajit has nothing to do with religion. “Malik is facing serious charges and if he is acquitted of them, he is free to join the ruling alliance.”

BJP’s stand on Malik is believed to be a strategy of playing its Hindutva card and at the same time using the nationalist plank to attack the opposition, said a senior leader from the ruling alliance.

“A belligerent posture against Malik will help the party take forward its anti-Muslim stand and thus polarising the votes in its favour. Secondly, the party is facing criticism on social media after it joined hands with Ajit Pawar faction of NCP. To avoid any further damage to its image, BJP clarified its stand. The allegations of Malik’s links with one of Dawood’s aides were levelled by none other than Fadnavis and in the backdrop of it, induction of Malik into the ruling alliance would be embarrassing for him,” the leader, who did not wish to be named, said.

Malik, MLA from Anushakti Nagar, was arrested in connection with a money-laundering case. He was jailed for 18 months until August 11, 2023, when the Supreme Court granted him bail on medical grounds. Malik is accused of paying Dawood’s sister, Haseena Parker, to illegally take over a property in Kurla two decades ago, according to ED.