Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said that his nephew and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar did not tell him about any offer as has been claimed by Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar. Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Leader of Opposition, Wadettiwar on Wednesday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had offered Ajit Pawar, the post of Chief Minister on the condition that he brings NCP president Sharad Pawar with him. The claim comes just days after the "secret" meeting between the two Pawars last week.
“I have no knowledge of Congress leaders giving such statements,” said the senior Pawar in a press conference on Wednesday.
“Ajit Pawar talked about no offer in the meeting,” he said.
Last week, a buzz was created in the political circles after visuals aired by regional news channels showed Sharad Pawar arriving at the residence of a businessman in Pune on Saturday and later, Ajit Pawar leaving the same premises stirring a buzz of a “secret” meeting between the two.
However, both the bigwigs of the NCP who fell out earlier this year, sought to play down the meeting.
Targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party, the NCP chief said it wanted to spew hate in the society. “The Modi government is taking such decisions, due to which disputes and bitterness will increase on the basis of caste in the society,” he said.
He also informed that he will address a rally in Maharashtra’s Beed district and that his dialogue with the workers is “going on continuously.”
Earlier in the day, former CM and Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan was quoted as saying by some media reports that the BJP was trying to lure Sharad Pawar away from the Maha Vikas Aghadi by offering him a position in the Union Cabinet.
Chavan said that the Pawars' secret meeting at a bungalow owned by a businessman was about this offer. Chavan claimed that the senior Pawar had been offered the agriculture ministry and the post of the NITI Ayog's chairman.
He also said that Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule and NCP leader Jayant Patil (who was present at the Pawars' meeting) have also been offered central Cabinet positions. Chavan also said that Sharad Pawar had not accepted the BJP's offer.