Newly-appointed Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar today said he, along with other rebel Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLAs, joined the BJP and Shiv Sena-led government as they believe the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led union government has been trying to take this country ahead for the last nine years.
"In the last two and a half years when we were in power, we decided that we would focus on development...A lot of people will try to criticise us, we won't respond to them and focus on how to take the state ahead," he said.A majority of NCP MLAs, and the entire party, has decided to be in the government, Mr Pawar stressed in a press conference after taking oath. "The NCP party has joined the government. The party name and symbol will be used by us to contest elections," he added, pre-empting possible disqualification of all rebel MLAs under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution. Pawar revealed that discussions regarding the move were going on for a long time."Whatever has been happening in the country and in the state, we saw that and decided that development should be made a priority," he said.