Nationalist Congress Party's Maharashtra chief, Sunil Tatkare, lost his cool on reporters after they repeatedly probed him about a potential internal rift over Sunetra Pawar's Rajya Sabha nomination. This occurred after Pawar filed her nomination at the Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai.
Reports had previously claimed that senior party leader Chhagan Bhujbal was unhappy with Sunetra Pawar’s nomination to the Rajya Sabha.
When repeatedly asked about these reports, Tatkare responded angrily, "I've repeatedly said just now that the decision was taken by the core committee of the party. Bhujbal was present for the meeting. The decision was taken unanimously. Nobody is unhappy."
As reporters continued to press the issue, Tatkare reiterated, "That topic is done. I have given an answer." Tatkare further vented his frustration, saying, "You are repeatedly asking me the same questions. I have answered it thrice now."
When reporters questioned his anger, the Raigad MP responded, "There is no issue of getting angry here. There's no use of this if you are going to ask the same questions. Despite responding to one question, you are asking the same question repeatedly."
Tatkare emphasized, "Bhujbal is not unhappy. He's a leader of our party. Today, he happily came to bless Sunetra Pawar for filing her nomination. Thank you."
Earlier in the day, Bhujbal held a press conference to clarify that reports of his dissatisfaction were untrue. "We had a core group meeting last night. All senior leaders were present. We unanimously decided to nominate Sunetra Pawar for the Rajya Sabha," Bhujbal said.
Bhujbal acknowledged that he, along with others, was interested in the nomination. "But the party functions with consensus. The consensus was to send Sunetra Pawar to Rajya Sabha, and I've no problem with it." When asked if he was unhappy with the decision, Bhujbal responded, "There is no question of being unhappy. Do I look unhappy to you?"
Meanwhile, Sunetra Pawar filed her nomination for the Rajya Sabha seat at the Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai.