NCP chief Sharad Pawar says Maha deputy CM Ajit Pawar showing Covid-19 symptoms

“His (Ajit Pawar's) testings were done today morning and the results are yet to come. As a precaution, we decided not to take any risk and hence he decided not to attend the event,” Sharad Pawar said.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday said there were indications of Maharashtra deputy chief minister and his nephew, Ajit Pawar, having symptoms of Covid-19. The NCP chief said this in response to a question about the deputy CM’s absence in the family’s Diwali get-together, during a press meet earlier in the day.

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar. (HT File Photo)

“His tests were done today morning and the results are yet to come. As a precaution, we decided not to take any risk and, hence, he decided not to attend the event,” news agency PTI quoted Sharad Pawar as saying.

He further said some members of Ajit Pawar’s house staff and drivers tested positive for Covid-19 earlier.

The NCP supremo, however, hailed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ruling coalition of which his party is an alliance partner, for the reducing number of infections.

“Last year, due to Covid-19, we had to follow certain norms, but now the danger of Covid-19 is slowly declining in the country. As far as Maharashtra is concerned, the state government took some important decisions, as a result of which, we are witnessing that the number of coronavirus patients is declining,” he said, during his family’s Diwali celebrations at his residence in Baramati, Pune. The Pawar family did not celebrate the festival last year due to Covid-19 norms.

Watch | Maha Dy CM Ajit Pawar faces income tax heat; assets worth ₹1,000 crore seized

“We are coming out of danger… I am sure we will go back to normal and will be able to compensate for the losses incurred during the pandemic and we will be able to revive the economy… I wish a warm Diwali to all the people and I am sure that we will be able to start again with new hope,” he added.

On Tuesday, the Income Tax department (I-T) had attached properties worth over ₹1,000 crore allegedly linked to Ajit Pawar in Maharashtra, Delhi and Goa.

Meanwhile, in Maharashtra, the number of daily Covid-19 infections and on Thursday the state saw 1,141 new cases and 32 deaths. The cumulative caseload there stood at 66,15,299 and the death toll reached 1,40,345.