Ajit Pawar absence at key party meet sparks off rumour

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) working president Praful Patel clarified
reports on senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar’s absence from the meeting and said
that this was just a meeting on the Women and Youth wings of the party.

“Ajit Pawar did not attend the meeting because he is not an office bearer of these specific wings and that’s why today he was not even invited. The ones who were called into the meeting were present,” Praful Patel said. “All is good our party and weall are working together,” he added.

The National Women and Youth wing meeting of the party in Delhi was attended by Sharad Pawar and other senior NCP leaders including working presidents Supriya Sule and Praful Patel. Pawar’s absence from the meeting sparked curiosity after he was missing from the NCP posters displayed at the venue of the party’s national executive meeting. Earlier, NCP’s Ajit Pawar announced that he wants to step down as Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra and would like any party post.

Ajit Pawar on Wednesday while speaking at the party event in Mumbai had said, “I was never interested in working as Leader of Opposition but accepted the role on demand of the party MLAs. Assign me any post in the party organisation and I will do complete justice to whatever responsibility given to me.”

Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on having a Uniform Civil Code in the country, Praful Patel reacted and said that it is a political strategy. When asked about his comment on PM Modi’s statement on UCC, Praful Patel said, “India is a country of 140 crores, and everyone has to be taken along. People of all religions, castes and tribes live here. Everybody follows different customs and traditions and some follow their personal laws as well.”

“There should be an extensive discussion on this and only then it should be passed. Our only demand is that such an important decision should not
be taken in haste and without proper discussion,” he added.

On Friday while addressing a Bharatiya Janata Party booth worker in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal PM Modi said that the country cannot run on two laws and that Uniform Civil Code was part of the Constitution.

“Today people are being instigated in the name of UCC. How can the country run on two (laws)? The Constitution also talks of equal rights…Supreme Court has also asked to implement UCC. These (Opposition) people are playing vote bank politics,” he said.

At a recent meeting of party meeting in Delhi has kick started another round of rumours about his forthcoming rebellions and consequent tensions within the party . The NCP has been at pains to deny a rift following elevation of NCP supremo daughter Supriya Sule which has made Ajit wary. However the impact of such rumours on Maharashtra politics remains to be seen.