Oppn Slams Maha Govt Over Fadnavis Letter To Jr Pawar After Nawab Malik Attends Session
Maharashtra politics is heating up after former state minister Nawab Malik attended the assembly session and was later seen in Ajit Pawar faction NCP office.
A letter from Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis to his Cabinet colleague Ajit Pawar, who shares the chair with him, has heated state politics yet again. All after former state minister Nawab Malik attended the assembly session and now Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) has openly opposed the induction of the NCP MLA in the ruling 'Maha Yuti' alliance. Malik is out on medical bail after the ED arrested him in February 2022 in a money-laundering probe.
He attended the Maharashtra assembly winter session on Thursday and was later seen in the office of Ajit Pawar-led faction of the NCP in the legislature complex. Now, the opposition has targeted the BJP for siding with someone they once called a 'traitor'.
Fadnavis on Thursday wrote to junior Pawar opposition Malik's inclusion in the ruling alliance in the state, after the latter was seen sitting in the last row, next to an MLA of the Ajit Pawar camp.
What Fadnavis Said In Letter
In his letter to Ajit Pawar, Fadnavis said Nawab Malik has the right to attend the assembly as an MLA and added that "we (the BJP) do not harbour any personal animosity or grudge" against him. "However, considering the kind of allegations he is facing, we are of the opinion that it would not be appropriate to induct him in the Maha Yuti," he said.
"We agree that it is your prerogative (to decide) who should be inducted in your party. But every constituent party (of the Maha Yuti) has to think as to whether it would harm the alliance. Hence, we are opposed to this," Fadnavis further added, quoted news agency PTI.
Fadnavis added that his party BJP could not be on the same page as the "then chief minister" and the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government which had allowed Malik to continue as a minister even after he was arrested.
NCP Says 'No Need' For Such Letter
Objecting to the letter, NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) MLC Amol Mitkari said there was no need for such a letter and that "whatever has to be conveyed could have been done in person". "The letter is getting viral now. Now that they have already written a letter regarding Nawab Malik, (deputy CM) Ajit Pawar will respond to it appropriately," Mitkari asserted, reported PTI.
Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar's NCP took a jibe at the tussle between two deputy CMs, saying that perhaps the two do not have each other's phone numbers.
"It seems that one Deputy CM does not have the phone number of the second deputy CM. Such things have to be discussed in private. But, unfortunately, Fadnavis had to write an open letter to convey his objection. It shows the BJP's uneasiness with Nawab Malik," Jayant Patil said.
Patil said that since Fadnavis is also the state home minister, if should place in the Assembly any additional information regarding allegations against Nawab Malik.
"However, we do not agree with what has been said in the letter regarding Malik. I have not yet personally met Nawab Malik. So I do not know which side he is supporting. Also, we do not have anything to say about the rift caused in ruling alliance due to Nawab Mallik's induction. It is their personal issue," Patil said.
Maharashtra LoP and Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar also reacted to the letter by Fadnavis to Pawar and said: "...I feel that Nawab Malik is with the 'Mahayuti' (grand alliance)."
#WATCH | Nagpur: On Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis's letter to NCP leader Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra LoP and Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar says, "...I feel that Nawab Malik is with the 'Mahayuti' (grand alliance)." (7.12) pic.twitter.com/OlJP7s4peS
— ANI (@ANI) December 7, 2023
Wadettiwar had earlier claimed that the funds allocation in the supplementary demands presented earlier in the day "would eventually benefit Malik".
"Malik has submitted an affidavit extending support to Ajit Pawar," he claimed, adding that the government wanted him on its side "but not officially." "Fadnavis has deliberately used the word anti-national against Malik in his letter to keep the NCP MLA at a distance and insulate his party from any further criticism," Wadettiwar added.
Supriya Sule Slams BJP For 'Insulting' Nawab Malik
Sharad Pawar's NCP MP Supriya Sule meanwhile hit out at the BJP calling it as 'Bhrastha Jumla Party' and that the saffron party has trapped the Ajit Pawar section of the NCP.
VIDEO | "I read that letter and the way Nawab Malik has been insulted is wrong. The BJP has turned into 'Bhrashta Jumla Party' and they have trapped the Ajit Pawar group," says NCP Working President @supriya_sule on Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis' letter letter to Ajit… pic.twitter.com/p5BOTEQoxB
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 7, 2023
"I read that letter and the way Nawab Malik has been insulted is wrong. The BJP has turned into 'Bhrashta Jumla Party' and they have trapped the Ajit Pawar group," she said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant questioned BJP's moral authority to write a letter to their partner NCP. "Does he have the moral right to write a letter? All dirty clothes have come to their laundry and they have washed them. What moral rights does he have?...All the hypocrisy that the BJP does - of patriotism, nationalism, they have nothing as such in their hearts; only love for power..." he said.
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