Signatures given by 54 NCP MLAs for party's internal use, misused on letter of support: Sharad Pawar
Mumbai: NCP president Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the decision of his nephew Ajit Pawar to join hands with the BJP to form a government in Maharashtra was an act of indiscipline and attracts provisions of anti-defection law.
Pawar was addressing a joint press conference with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray here.
"Ajit Pawar's decision is an act of indiscipline. No NCP worker is in favour of the NCP-BJP government. NCP MLAs who support the BJP should know this move attracts provisions of anti-defection law," he said.
Whenever elections are held in the constituencies of these legislators, Congress-NCP and Shiv Sena would unitedly defeat them, he added.
He said 54 newly-elected legislators of the NCP had signed a paper along with their names and constituencies for internal purpose and these signatures may have been misused as letter of support and submitted to the governor.
"If this is true, the governor has also been misled," Pawar said, adding that the paper may have been taken by Ajit Pawar as the leader of the legislature party.
He said those MLAs, who were taken to the Raj Bhavan for oath-taking without their knowledge, have contacted him and informed how they were misled.
Three such legislators, including Rajendra Shingane from Buldhana and Sandeep Kshirsagar from Beed, were present at the press conference.
They said they were called to party leader Dhananjay Munde's house at 7 am and from there were taken in a car to Raj Bhavan.
Pawar said no action would be taken against those who unknowingly went to Raj bhavan for the swearing-in and were back in the party fold.
NCP legislature party meeting would be held later in the day to elect the new leader.
On the issue of action against Ajit Pawar, the former Union minister said a decision to that effect would be taken by the disciplinary committee.
Uddhav Thackeray said, "Earlier the EVM khel (game) was going on and now this is new khel. From here onwards I don't think elections are even needed."
"Everyone knows what Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj did when betrayed and attacked from the back," he said, adding that Sena workers will foil all attempts to poach party MLAs.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
