Twitter
Advertisement

Ajit Pawar quits & goes for the kill

Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra deputy chief minister, resigned on Tuesday following allegations of irregularities in clearing irrigation projects in the state.

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra deputy chief minister, resigned on Tuesday following allegations of irregularities in clearing irrigation projects in the state.

NCP ministers, however, came out in his support, some even offering to resign. At least 20 ministers have given their resignations to state chief Madhukar Picchad. Praful Patel, party vice-president, said in Delhi the Congress-NCP alliance in the state was safe and that the party would do nothing to de-stablise it. “There is no threat.”

Patel said Pawar would continue to be the leader of NCP legislature party in Maharashtra and that no other minister would resign from the state government.

But at the state level, party MLAs stressed that the NCP should quit the government and support the Congress from outside.
Announcing his resignation, Pawar said, “It is my conscious decision. I am fed up with all these false charges [of corruption]...”
Agencies reported that NCP chief Sharad Pawar had allowed his nephew, who had called him on Monday, to resign from his post.
Ajit Pawar had held the finance and power portfolios. He has been accused of clearing irrigation projects worth Rs20,000 crore — when he was the water resources minister between 1999 and 2009 — without a clearance from the governing council of Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation.

The NCP chief said his nephew was ready to face an investigation. He has called for the NCP’s state legislative meeting on Wednesday.

Political experts term Pawar’s resignation a tactical move to garner sympathy while improving his public image. They say he wants to take the centre stage in state politics and position himself as the NCP’s chief ministerial candidate.

A confident Pawar, accompanied by other NCP leaders, told reporters that he had resigned for a “free and fair investigation” in the irrigation sector. “I will stay out of the government till my name is cleared.”

Pawar, often referred to as “Dada” called upon the government to come out with “a comprehensive white paper on irrigation projects in the past five decades”.

Patel said in Delhi rivals as well as some friends had conspired to defame the NCP. Pawar, too, said the same thing. “If I had not resigned, I would have been accused of influencing government decisions,” he said.

Rajesh Tope, minister for higher and technical education, will now have additional charge of power. Jayant Patil, rural development minister, will have the finance portfolio.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement