He also alleged that the recent mayoral elections in Chandigarh were an example of abuse of power (Photo: PTI)
Former Union minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday alleged that the mention of the Adarsh housing scam in a white paper tabled in Parliament was a kind of “threat”, which led to Ashok Chavan quitting the Congress.
Chavan, who joined the BJP last week, has denied such claims.
He is an accused in the Adarsh Housing Society scam, where a swanky 31-storey building in south Mumbai was allegedly built on land owned by the Defense Ministry without obtaining requisite clearances and permissions .
The scandal led to Chavan’s resignation as chief minister of Maharashtra in 2010.
Asked about Chavan’s exit from the Congress, Pawar told reporters in Kolhapur that while the development was surprising to everyone, he personally was not surprised.
“The reason is that the BJP had submitted a white paper on their achievements in the last ten years and their views on the opposition. That white paper mentioned Adarsh society and Ashok Chavan. After that mention, we assumed that it could be some kind of threat, and (Chavan’s exit) was a consequence of that threat,” NCP chief Sharadchandra Pawar said.
Debunking reports of his camp’s merger with the Congress, Pawar said, “We, the Congress and the NCP, are working together. We, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, and Congress are not separated now. We usually sit together. and discuss, but that does not mean that there is a need for a merger.”
He also alleged that the recent mayoral elections in Chandigarh were an example of abuse of power.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed the results of the Chandigarh mayoral elections in which the BJP candidate had emerged as the unlikely winner and declared the defeated candidate of the AAP-Congress alliance as the new mayor.
The SC said it was clear that the Returning Officer for the elections, Anil Masih, a BJP leader, made a deliberate attempt to deface eight ballot papers.
“The mayoral elections in Chandigarh, in which eight votes were previously declared invalid, are a good example of abuse of power. It shows that those in power are trying to sideline the opposition,” Pawar alleged.
When the Election Commission of India recognized the group led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar as the real NCP, Sharad Pawar said he had founded the party but the party and its symbol (the clock) were taken from them and were given to others.
“Two days ago, the Supreme Court ruled that we have the right to lead our party and ordered the ECI to give us a symbol within seven days. The Supreme Court has imposed strict requirements on the Election Commission. Fortunately, the country’s legal system is still in good shape. place where we can approach, he said.
Asked about alleged discrepancies in the ECI’s decisions, Sharad Pawar said not much can be done as elections are around the corner.
But after the election process is over, they will demand that all political parties come together and discuss this issue, he said.
“We have already sent a letter regarding our concerns to the Election Commission of India,” he said. The letter suggests that there should be some reforms in the current functioning of the polling body and an appointment from the ECI has been sought.
“I, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, CPI’s D Raja, TMC and SP leaders are among the signatories of that letter,” he said.
To a question about the BJP claiming that it will win more than 400 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls but taking leaders from Congress and other parties in several states, Sharad Pawar said this shows that the BJP is is not sure that she will win that many seats.
“A survey focusing on Maharashtra states that our people (opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi) would win about 50 percent of the seats in the state (out of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state). Therefore, an attempt is being made to make states unstable and poach leaders from the opposition and for this purpose the ED and CBI are being used,” he alleged.
On Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s comments that Sonia Gandhi’s aim is to make Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister, Sharad Pawar said he could give a long list of leaders who have two family members in politics.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: February 21, 2024 | 3:06 PM IST