Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday said Nana Patole’s appointment as the Maharashtra Congress chief was not “entirely unexpected” but he should have stepped down as Assembly Speaker after the winter session.
Mr. Pawar refuted reports that the development had caused friction among the allies of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). He said, “News of Mr. Patole’s resignation was in the air for the past few days. While it might have been better had he resigned after the last Assembly session, this decision by his party superiors will not affect the smooth functioning of the government.”
The resignation has sparked demands from Congress leaders like Manikrao Thakre for the Deputy Chief Minister’s post. However, the MVA allies had agreed on an arrangement whereby the Congress would get the Speaker’s post, and Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena) and Mr. Pawar (NCP) would be handed the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister’s posts respectively.
Meanwhile, Mr. Pawar accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of misleading the public on inflated power bills by claiming the government failed to provide relief to consumers.
The senior NCP leader said the BJP was staging agitations across the State to divert attention from the BJP-led Centre’s failure to control rising fuel prices.
“We waived of 50% of electricity bills, including interest and interest on recovery. Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis should first urge the Centre to reduce fuel prices before pointing the finger at us,” Mr. Pawar said.