Sharad Pawar, chief of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), took aim at Praful Patel. Praful Patel was expelled from the party for supporting Ajit Pawar, and Sharad Pawar claimed that he was fortunate unlike others as he used to get elected to Parliament without facing any elections just by filling the form.
After Ajit Pawar took oath as deputy chief minister on Sunday, the Pawar senior had singled out Patel and MP Sunil Tatkare for abandoning the guidelines of the party president and taking a wrong path. On Monday, Sharad Pawar sacked Patel, the working president of NCP, and general secretary Tatkare for engaging in anti-party activities.
Addressing a press conference here before announcing the decision to sack Patel and Tatkare, Pawar said, All our MLAs and MPs (pointing at some of them flanking him) have done a lot of hard work to get elected. They go among people and work but Praful (Patel) is a fortunate colleague who by just filling out the form becomes an MP. These people (MLAs) do not have to go and cast their votes to elect him (Patel). He gets elected unopposed and no election-related expense is incurred. Patel is "fortunate" as he gets the opportunity to become a member of Parliament easily, Pawar added. When asked if Patel has expressed his wish to meet him but stuck to his stand, Pawar said Patel has the right to take any stand. If he wants to offer some guidance, we will just listen and leave it, he added. Pawar also asserted that he is the last authority in NCP and had fixed some responsibilities for Patel.
If he (Patel) does something contrary to those responsibilities by breaking the line of the party, he has no right to remain in that position, he added. Asked whether he was pained to see that leaders groomed by him are deserting him, Pawar replied in the negative.
Not at all. My experience tells me that whenever such a situation emerges, the final decision is taken by people and common voters in elections. I have faith in them, he said.