'Fadnavis has no right to comment': Sharad Pawar slams Maharashtra CM over NCP merger remarks
Sharad Pawar targeted Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the NCP merger issue, saying that since Fadnavis was not involved in the merger talks, he has no right to comment on the matter.
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had no role in the merger talks between the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party and therefore had no authority to comment on the issue.
Speaking to reporters in Baramati, the former Union minister said the discussions were being led by NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil and his nephew, NCP chief Ajit Pawar.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash in Baramati, Pune district, on January 28. Following his death, Sharad Pawar and other party leaders stated that the merger talks were at an advanced stage and that Ajit Pawar had finalised February 12 as the date to announce the reunification of the rival factions.
Chief Minister Fadnavis, however, countered the claim, saying that if the merger talks were indeed underway, Ajit Pawar would have shared the details with him.
Fadnavis has no right to comment on NCP merger: Sharad Pawar
Asked about Fadnavis's remarks, Sharad Pawar said, "I do not understand, what right he has to mention my name? As he was nowhere in the merger talks, he has no right to comment on it."
He said that NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil and NCP head Ajit Pawar had been leading the merger talks.
Asked if the merger will take place now, Sharad Pawar said that currently their priority is to support each other and then decide how to go ahead.
"As far as political discussions are concerned, we are not talking to anyone," he added.
What did Sharad Pawar say about Sunetra Pawar?
To a question on the appointment of Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra as deputy CM after his demise, the senior Pawar said it is a matter of happiness and satisfaction that she got the opportunity to serve in the post.
He, however, denied having any knowledge about a memorial for Ajit Pawar being planned on the premises of Vidya Pratishtan, the educational institution founded by the Pawar family in Baramati.
"I have read about it in the newspapers. There has been no discussion on it yet. We will sit together and decide," he said.
Notably, Kiran Gujar, a close aide of Ajit Pawar and confidant of the Pawar family, on Sunday said the memorial has been planned on the Vidya Pratishthan premises where the NCP leader's last rites were performed.
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