Maharashtra Congress spokesman Sachin Sawant asks party to relieve him of post

It is said that the request was made after Sachin Sawant was overlooked for appointment as Congress chief spokesperson

Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant has requested state president Nana Patole to relieve him from his official position and hand him a new responsibility. Though Sawant said that he wants a new role as he has been working as the party spokesperson for a decade now, party insiders have said that the request was made after he was overlooked for the appointment as Congress’ chief spokesperson.

Sachin Sawant has also removed ‘spokesperson’ from his bio on his Twitter handle. (ANI FILE)

Sawant has also removed ‘spokesperson’ from his bio on his Twitter handle.

On Tuesday, Patole had allotted responsibilities to the newly-appointed body of the Maharashtra unit. He appointed Atul Londhe as the chief spokesperson. It is believed that Sawant has been hurt by the decision.

Sawant was not available for a comment. Patole, too, did not respond to calls and text message.

“Sachin Sawant was expecting that he would be appointed as the chief spokesperson of the state unit and got upset after being ignored for the position and because the post went to someone who is junior to him in the party,” said a Congress leader, on the condition of anonymity.

Sawant is considered as one of the most active voices of Congress against the opposition parties for the past 10 years. He is also credited for exposing the various aspects of the Chikki scam and the alleged irregularities in the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan in the previous Devendra Fadnavis-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Maharashtra and for taking the opposition leaders head on. Recently, he had disclosed the report of a committee of medical experts that had allegedly found that all the ventilators provided under the PM Cares Fund were non-functional. The committee was appointed by the Government Medical College, Aurangabad, after ventilators that they had received were found to be in non-working condition.