Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was never part of the discussions on the merger of the two NCP factions and therefore had no right to comment on the issue.
Speaking to reporters in Baramati, Pawar said the merger talks were being led by NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil and his nephew, NCP chief Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash in Pune district on January 28.
Following Ajit Pawar’s death, leaders of the Sharad Pawar-led party had claimed that reunification talks between the rival factions were at an advanced stage and that Ajit Pawar had finalised February 12 as the date to announce the merger. However, Chief Minister Fadnavis later said that if such talks were indeed underway, Ajit Pawar would have shared the details with him.
Reacting sharply to these remarks, Sharad Pawar said, “I do not understand what right he has to mention my name. As he was nowhere in the merger talks, he has no right to comment on it.” He reiterated that the discussions were handled exclusively by Jayant Patil and Ajit Pawar.
Asked whether the merger would still go ahead, Pawar said the immediate priority was to support each other in the aftermath of the tragedy, adding that no political discussions were currently being held. “As far as political talks are concerned, we are not speaking to anyone at the moment,” he said.
On the appointment of Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar as deputy chief minister after his demise, Sharad Pawar said it was a matter of happiness and satisfaction that she had received the opportunity to serve in the post.
He also said he was unaware of any plan to build a memorial for Ajit Pawar at the Vidya Pratishthan campus in Baramati. “I read about it in newspapers. There has been no discussion yet. We will sit together and decide,” he said, even as Ajit Pawar’s close aide Kiran Gujar recently claimed that a memorial was being planned at the site where his last rites were performed.
