Mumbai: As former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal was on Friday granted bail by the Bombay High Court, NCP leader Ajit Pawar welcomed the development while thousands of Bhujbal supporters erupted in celebrations with fireworks and distribution of sweets.
Pawar told the Free Press Journal, “NCP had believed from the beginning that this decision taken regarding Bhujbal, should have been taken immediately, in the first instance itself. Constantly efforts were being made to ensure he got bail, but due to some difficulty or the other he was being denied it. Bhujbal has been granted bail and we are genuinely happy that he will be released.”
Pawar admitted that NCP had missed Bhujbal in the last two years as he has been a dynamic leader. “NCP will be empowered because Bhujbal is a powerful and dashing leader. He is a leader who knows every issue of the state of Maharashtra,. He is the face of Bahujan Samaj. Moreover, till now none of the charges have been proved and despite that he was kept in jail for 26 months. This definitely is injustice to a person of Bhujbal’s stature. Right now the court has given bail, we will have to study the reasoning and charges that have been brought against him. In fact, we were trying to get him out as soon as possible, we were hoping he could be released on Friday. The procedures will take a day or two, the legal team has said. I can definitely say each one of us felt the absence of his leadership regularly in the party, on dealing with issues,” he said.