Ajit absent as Shinde and Fadnavis visit RSS founder's memorial; 'optics' won't work, says NCP (SP)
Mumbai, Sep 01: NCP leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday didn't join his Cabinet colleagues Devendra Fadnavis and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in visiting the Nagpur-based memorial of the RSS founder.
Taking a swipe, NCP (SP) leader and MLA Jitendra Awhad said people will not be fooled by Ajit Pawar's optics given that he shares power with the BJP, backed by the Sangh.
Shinde and Fadnavis visited Hedgewar's memorial in Nagpur ahead of a "Mazi Ladki Bahin" scheme function in Nagpur.
"Ajit Pawar is playing a game at a different level. He is politically sharing power with the BJP but has also been trying to project himself as a leader who will not visit the memorial (of the RSS founder). He (Ajit Pawar) acts differently in public as a politician and practices different politics behind curtains," Awhad alleged.
He rejected PM Narendra Modi's apology over the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue in Sindhudurg district.
"Why did Modi raise the Veer Savarkar issue and demand an apology (for those who insulted) Savarkar while speaking about the statue incident? The Savarkar issue was over before the Lok Sabha elections. It means he (Modi) did not want to apologise. Why bring up an issue nobody was discussing?" Awhad stated.
He alleged the government's laxity in arresting the accused sculptor of the Shivaji Maharaj statue that crashed; suspects involved in Vishalgad fort vandalism, and the principal of the Badlapur school where two girls were allegedly sexually assaulted by an attendant.
The MLA from Mumbra-Kalwa in Thane district also alleged that the state government had promised to increase the monthly wages of ASHA workers by Rs 5,000 last December, but the payment has not been revised yet.
"Additionally, the portion of their payment that used to come from local governing bodies has now been completely stopped. As a result, the approximately 72,000 ASHA workers in the state are being exploited by the state government," the former minister claimed.
Awhad alleged that Shiv Sena leader and state health minister Tanaji Sawant's "nausea" remarks on the association with NCP was a fallout of Pawar- who holds the finance ministry- objecting to clearing Sawant's file.
"Sawant intended to purchase a vehicle for Rs 30 lakh despite its actual price being only Rs 3 lakh. This caused a stormy discussion at the last Cabinet meeting where Ajit Pawar objected to the inflated price. It was revealed that Sawant had already taken a 50 per cent commission, but, the file regarding the purchase is now stuck." he alleged.
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Put petty politics aside; it's not about one party, but India: Rahul on TMC's loss in polls
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday termed the BJP's victory in Bengal and Assam assembly polls a "theft" of the mandate, and a big step forward in the saffron party's mission to "destroy" Indian democracy.
Gandhi also came out in support of the TMC, which has been trounced by the BJP in the polls, and urged those gloating over the loss of Mamata Banerjee's party to put petty politics aside.
"Some in the Congress, and others, are gloating about TMC's loss.They need to understand this clearly - the theft of Assam and Bengal's mandate is a big step forward by the BJP in its mission to destroy Indian democracy," Gandhi said in a post on X.
"Put petty politics aside. This is not about one party or another. This is about India," he said in his post.
The BJP ousted Trinamool Congress from power in Bengal and captured power for the third time in a row in Assam in results of assembly polls declared on Monday.
