The spat between Pawar and Fadnavis comes in the wake of several senior NCP leaders quitting the party to join either BJP or Shiv Sena.A day after Sharad Pawar accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of misusing investigation agencies to coerce Opposition leaders to jump ship, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Sunday said the NCP chief should be the one to introspect why leaders were deserting his party.
“Sharad Pawar should introspect on why his people are not ready to stay with the NCP. The stand of the BJP is very clear. A lot of leaders from the Congress and NCP are interested in joining the BJP, however, very few will be allowed to join. Those with ED cases will not be taken. We do not need such people,” PTI quoted Fadnavis as saying.
The spat between Pawar and Fadnavis comes in the wake of several senior NCP leaders, including former state party unit head Madhukar Pichad, Mumbai unit chief Sachin Ahir, women’s wing chief Chitra Wagh, and others quitting the party in last few days to join either BJP or Shiv Sena.
Earlier in the day, Pawar accused Fadnavis and other Maharashtra BJP leaders of “committing themselves” to poaching leaders from other parties before the elections in the state. “The chief minister and other ministers in the state government have literally committed themselves to this work (luring leaders of other parties). They are making phone calls to leaders of other parties and asking them to join,” the NCP chief said.
To this, Fadnavis said the BJP was not “running behind” anyone to join. “We are beyond running behind anyone. Now people (leaders) run behind the BJP. We will take care of those who are good and work for the people,” he said.
The veteran NCP leader also hit out at the BJP government, alleging misuse of financial bodies. “The sugar mill of (former MLA) Kalyan Kale in Pandharpur was in a difficult situation. The state government, by flouting norms, gave Rs 30-35 crore to it and asked him to join the BJP. Since he wanted to save his factory, he switched over.”
Pawar said that apart from central agencies such as Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and state agencies such as Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), the BJP dispensation was also using Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank (MSC) to “illegally” help political leaders from rival parties who are in financial mess and then force them to join the party.
Fadnavis countered Pawar’s claims by saying that the Maharashtra BJP and state banks had helped many NCP leaders in the past. “However, we never asked them to join the BJP. He should introspect,” the chief minister added.
