Ajit Pawar takes dig at Maharashtra CM Fadnavis over commenting against Sharad Pawar

The NCP leader said that BJP leaders were misusing power and would put people behind the bars even without any suspicion

Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar ON?? took a dig at chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for criticising his uncle and party chief Sharad Pawar at a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally held in Mumbai last week.

Fadnavis had recently lashed out at the NCP supremo for targeting him over the alleged spending on tea and hospitality in chief minister’s office. (HT FILE)

“His (CM Fadnavis) political teacher (Narendra Modi) came to politics holding the fingers of the NCP chief and these people are criticising such a leader. Do these BJP leaders have that much stature to speak about him?” said Ajit, slamming the chief minister at a rally at Dahiwadi village in Satara district of western Maharashtra. The rally was part of the NCP’s ‘Halla Bol’ campaign, a street-style agitation underway in western Maharashtra.

Ajit was alluding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comment in November 2016, on the occasion of Sharad Pawar’s 50 years in electoral politics, when he had said the latter had held his hand during his early days in politics. This had fuelled much speculation over NCP and BJP bonhomie. However, the NCP has since then announced it will align with the Congress in the upcoming polls and Sharad Pawar has been seen bringing together an anti-BJP front.

Ajit also charged at the BJP government for misusing power. “The BJP leaders are misusing power. They start conducting probe against anyone. People are being put behind the bars even without any suspicion. Maharashtra has never seen such kind of politics. This needs to be stopped now,” Ajit said.

Fadnavis had recently lashed out at the NCP supremo for targeting him over the allege spending on tea and hospitality in chief minister’s office (CMO). “What we drink, we serve to our leaders. What your party leaders drink, you cannot serve it in our office. Don’t get in to controversy over teawallahs; you saw what happened in 2014,” he said on Friday.

BJP has started NCP in lieu of upcoming polls since it is now clear that the latter will align with Congress.

He was replying to Pawar’s remarks in which the latter had indicated a scam in CMO on spending on tea and hospitality. "The cost on tea and hospitality in the CMO has increased by 577%. I was also the CM for four-term and during my time no one drank so much tea,” Pawar has said targeting at the chief minister.