Shiv Sena (Thackeray faction) leader and MLA Bhaskar Jadhav launched a sharp attack on Finance Minister Ajit Pawar two days ago during the monsoon session of the Maharashtra Legislature over the issue of fund allocation. While speaking on supplementary demands, Jadhav criticized the functioning of the finance department under Ajit Pawar. He alleged that the finance minister was arbitrarily deciding which departments receive how much funding and warned against politicizing the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Responding on Wednesday during a discussion on the supplementary demands, Ajit Pawar gave a strong rebuttal. Jadhav had earlier questioned the role of the finance minister, asking, “If the finance minister alone decides the fund allocation, then what is the point of presenting a budget? What value do the budget provisions hold? Haven’t there been finance ministers before?” In response, Ajit Pawar said, “There is no need for unsolicited advice. Everyone in the house has the right to express their opinions.”
He further added, “Ours is a three-party government. I’ve been informed of what Bhaskar Jadhav said in the House when I wasn’t present. I would just like to say, Mr. Jadhav, please check how much funding has been given to various departments. Jadhav said he had submitted a letter requesting a mounted statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in his Guhagar constituency. He claims I neither accepted nor rejected the request. That is why he’s upset.”
Ajit Pawar also pointed out that Bhaskar Jadhav has completed six terms as MLA and is currently serving his seventh. He said, “He has even served as Minister of State for Urban Development. So why wasn’t a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj erected in Chiplun or Guhagar all these years? I don’t understand this. Jadhav mentioned that all eight talukas in Ratnagiri district have statues of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, but his constituency doesn’t. After all these years, if a statue wasn’t built, how can all the blame be put on us?”
Pawar then addressed Jadhav’s accusation more directly: “How can Bhaskar Jadhav say who the finance minister gives money to? What does he think of himself? He knows very well that fund allocation is not done solely by me. Though I signed the papers, they also require the signatures of Deputy CM Eknath Shinde and CM Devendra Fadnavis.”
He clarified that once funds are allocated, it is up to the respective departmental ministers to decide their distribution. “But Jadhav has tried to present the matter in a misleading way,” Pawar said.
He concluded by saying, “I don’t consider myself above anyone. I’m the state’s finance minister, and I act only within the authority given to me by the Cabinet. I’ve also served in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government and know how to take everyone along. So there’s no need for others to lecture me. No one should take out their frustrations on me, and I don’t want to blame anyone either.”