Attempts to frame opposition leaders by ruling party in Maha won't be tolerated, says NCP leader Ajit Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar said any attempt by the ruling party to falsely implicate Opposition leaders will not be tolerated, the remarks apparently aimed at the BJP.

Talking to reporters after attending a meeting of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Pawar said two cases were registered against the party leader Jitendra Awhad and he had decided to quit as an MLA.

If anyone is at fault, be it me or anyone else, action should be taken. But if anyone is purposely trying to implicate opponents in a false case and finish them, then Maharashtra and the NCP will not tolerate such attempts, the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde share power in the state. Pawar said NCP remained in power from 1999-2014 and from 2019 to 2022, but it did not resort to such acts against the political opponents.

Senior NCP leaders Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh were arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in alleged cases of money laundering. The NCP has been claiming that they have been targeted.

He also backed senior party leader Chhagan Bhujbal’s demand of conducting a caste-based census in the state. Bhujbal has written to Chief minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis raising this demand.