Senior NCP leader Vasant Davkhare, who is also the deputy chairman of the state legislative council, is in the eye of a storm.
Senior NCP leader Vasant Davkhare, who is also the deputy chairman of the state legislative council, is in the eye of a storm. Reason: he continued with a do in Nagpur on Tuesday after Shiv Sena leader Pramod Navalkar died of heart attack in the city. Davkhare said in his defence that the party was pre-scheduled and the news of Navalkar’s demise came after the party had begun.
Chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, revenue minister Narayan Rane and senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde, along with a few Sena MLAs, attended the party. Food and music flowed in abandon. Gulabrao Gavande, Sena MLA from Akola, even sung a popular Hindi song ‘Sukh Ke Sab Sathi, Dukh Main Na Koi’ and everybody appreciated his performance.
Public works minister and former sainik Chhagan Bhujbal, however, skipped the party. He was on his way to the venue when he got the news of Navalkar’s demise, and aborted his plan.
A senior Sena leader said, “Navalkar was a member of the legislative council for 24 years. It is sad that no one, including some of his party colleagues, felt it necessary to scrap the party. The assembly and council were adjourned on Wednesday to pay tribute to Navalkar. But the leaders did not feel guilty attending the party just a day ago.”
Davkhare told DNA that the party was planned three days in advance. “We came to know about Navalkar’s death around 7:30 pm. By that time, the guests had arrived.
How could I have asked them to leave without having food?” Asked why wasn’t the music stopped even after hearing of Navalkar’s death, he said, “I did not want to disappoint the guests. If you think I have done something wrong, I offer my regrets.”
NCP state president Arun Gujrathi said, “Davkhare did not intend to hurt anybody. I myself don’t support his act, but one must understand that sometimes there are some compulsions which force you to go on. Davkhare has offered regrets, so there is no point in raking up the issue.”
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