'Sharad Pawar should have acted against Bhaskar Jadhav'

Though Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has expressed his displeasure over the lavish reception hosted by his party’s minister Bhaskar Jadhav to mark the wedding of his son and daughter in Chiplun recently, his statement is being perceived as one issued with great timing in his own party circles.

Pawar had last week said that extravagant weddings “gave him sleepless nights”. Several NCP leaders, on condition of anonymity, questioned why Pawar instead of spending ‘sleepless nights’ didn’t crack the whip on Jadhav.

Many of them are shocked ever since TV channels have been highlighting the lavish wedding while others have claimed that people have a short memory. Social worker Anna Hazare too has asked why Pawar only made a statement rather than taking action against Jadhav or Laxman Jagtap for his lavish birthday bash in Pimpri Chinchwad.

However, none of the NCP leaders are coming on record to tell whether the party is shaken with the media reports on leaders splurging on weddings and birthdays.
The inclusion of Jadhav as a state minister gave NCP the advantage of having two ministers in Konkan -- one in Guhagar, which is part of Raigad Lok Sabha Constituency and also home district of state minister of water resources Sunil Tatkare.

One of the leaders in Konkan region told DNA that Tatkare was not sharing a cordial relationship with Jadhav after the former agreed to become reception committee chairman of the Marathi literary meet held in Chiplun recently.

Pawar’s statement on the wedding reception of Jadhav’s children is being looked upon by some leaders in Chiplun as cutting Jadhav to size.

The literary meet organisers had gone to meet Jadhav from Chiplun to his Mumbai residence at least thrice but in vain. Jadhav not only ignored the organisers but also never made his intentions clear, which forced the organisers to approach Tatkare.

Tatkare, who hails from Raigad district, readily accepted the invite from the literary meet organisers for obvious reasons. Tatkare, who was under fire after the White Paper on irrigation scam, harnessed the opportunity to be at the helm of affairs at the literary meet. This resulted in not only damage control for Tatkare but also a positive catalyst in his political career.

Bhujbal cancels Nashik festival
PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal seems to have understood the sense of timing of Pawar’s statement and has cancelled his Nashik festival, which is an annual programme organised by Bhujbal Foundation. Considering the severe drought situation in parts of Nashik district, the guardian minister of Nashik, asked the organisers to cancel the festival and has decided to utilise those funds for water conservation in the drought-prone regions of Nashik.

Jadhav junks fat wedding charge, says will quit if proved wrong
Refuting the allegation that an irrigation department contractor had sponsored his children’s weddings, minister of state for urban development Bhaskar Jadhav on Tuesday said that he would quit public life if the allegation was proved correct.   

“If it is proved that an irrigation contractor named Shah spent for my children’s wedding, I will not let anyone ask for my resignation,(instead) I will quit political life,” he said.

‘NCP stand on Jadhav to be final’
Reacting to lavish functions organised by NCP leaders, Ajit Pawar said, “I would back whatever stand the party takes. Pimpri-Chinchwad MLA Laxman Jagtap and Sangli mayor Idris Nayakwadi have left the NCP and I would not comment on them. About Bhaskar Jadhav, Pawar Saheb has taken a proper stand.”