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Oppn leaders making allegations to divert attention of voters: Sharad Pawar
Pawar said workers do not think about the allegations made by those who left the party. They are making baseless remarks to divert the attention of citizens
Though the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction of Ajit Pawar and his colleagues criticised Sharad Pawar on Friday, the veteran leader without naming anyone said that new faces will be given tickets in the coming election.
The Ajit Pawar-NCP faction, which joined the government of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in Maharashtra in July this year, has claimed in the past that Pawar senior too was in favour of forming alliance with the BJP at one point but changed his stand later.
Without naming rebel candidates, Pawar said, “Do not think about who left us as it helped to clean our party and will give an opportunity to young leaders to represent the NCP in polls.”
Addressing the media after meeting the MLAs, party office-bearers and his supporters in Pune on Saturday, Pawar said, “People do not vote us to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) later. As a senior leader, others put forward many options before me like joining the BJP, but I never accepted it.”
Pawar said workers do not think about the allegations made by those who left the party. They are making baseless remarks to divert the attention of citizens.
“The voters will teach them a lesson. The people of Maharashtra will never accept those who get elected only to join the BJP later. These leaders have nothing to tell their electorate about development works. Hence, they make allegations.”
Pawar said that before the NCP split, prime minister Narendra Modi had made allegation about ₹70,000-crore scam related to Ajit Pawar, but remained silent after some leaders joined the BJP.
On allegations made by Praful Patel, Pawar said, “I am waiting for the book that he plans to write about me. Patel lost polls yet the NCP made him a minister. He was asking me to join the BJP since many years, but I suggested him to join the party on his own free will.”
Pawar also raised concerns about drought-like situation facing many districts in Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, speaking at a conclave of his faction at Karjat on Friday, Ajit, now a deputy chief minister, claimed that the Sharad Pawar-led group had been reaching out to him for a patch-up, and one meeting for this purpose was arranged on August 12 at businessman Atul Chordia’s Pune house. If Pawar senior did not like the decision to join the Shiv Sena-BJP government, why did he seek such a meeting, Ajit asked.
(With agency inputs)
