Sharad Pawar seeks probe against outgoing governor: 'Decisions BS Koshyari took…'

Welcoming BS Koshyari being shown the door, Sharad Pawar said, “Maharashtra has finally heaved a sigh of relief."

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday demanded an inquiry against outgoing Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari for his decisions which were allegedly against India's Constitution.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar and outgoing Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. (File)

Welcoming Koshyari being shown the door, Pawar said, “Maharashtra has finally heaved a sigh of relief. However, Koshyari's exit should have come much earlier. There had never been such an inept governor in Maharashtra." Pawar had earlier hit out at Koshyari for having “crossed all limits".

“I am content with the Union government's decision," Pawar said. “Whatever decisions Koshyari took as governor which were against the country's Constitution should be probed," said the NCP boss.

Pawar, who was in Wardha on Sunday, also addressed NCP workers at Sevagram and told them to be ready for the ensuing elections. He also said the party would field the maximum number of candidates from Vidarbha this time as it is working hard in almost all the districts of the region for strengthening the cadres.

He alleged that almost all Shiv Sena MLAs deserted Uddhav Thackeray and switched over to the Shinde-Fadnavis government because of pressure from the central enforcement agencies. He also alleged that the BJP was misusing power through the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and other central agencies.

“Those with opposite or different views/ideology with that of the BJP were being harassed. What was the crime of ex-minister Anil Deshmukh and why was he incarcerated for one and a half years," the NCP leader asked and accused the BJP of framing the former Maharashtra home minister for refusing to join the saffron alliance to topple the government.

Deshmukh, who arrived in Nagpur on Saturday, also spoke on the occasion. He revealed that he was given an offer to join the alliance for escaping the cases and jail.

“I decided not to surrender to them even if they put me in jail for my entire life,” he said. Deshmukh reiterated that he was falsely implicated in the case and put behind bars for 14 months.

Earlier, the Maratha strongman had an interaction with tribal leaders through Adivasi Gram Sabha at Sevagram ashram. He insisted that the gram sabha of all tribal villages be given more rights so that they would take their decisions in the interest of local tribals.

“The credit for protecting forests in the country goes only to tribals as they live in the periphery of forests,” he said and insisted that there is a need to strengthen the gram sabhas for the overall development of tribals as per their needs.

The NCP boss also interacted with the traders and industrialists of Wardha during his visit and urged the government to develop a textile park in the backward district.

“The district should also be developed as an international tourist centre as it was the home of Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinod Bhave,” he demanded and said that he was ready to meet the prime minister, along with the local delegates in this regard and if he approaches Modi with a request, the PM would not disappoint him.