Ajit questions Shinde about Thane hospital deaths; Fadnavis intervenes

Mumbai: The speculations about the tussle between the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Shiv Sena have once again came to the fore after deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar asked chief minister Eknath Shinde in the state cabinet meeting on August 18 about the deaths at a civic-run hospital in Thane.

According to sources, the CM was visibly annoyed after Ajit questioned him in front of everyone, however, deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis intervened and changed the subject.

On Tuesday, neither CM Shinde nor deputy CM Ajit denied the incident, however, they insisted it was not a spat but a discussion.

“Ajit sought information about the Thane deaths during the cabinet meeting as I had visited the hospital. I informed him what had happened. The speculations (about tussle) in the media are unfounded,” said Shinde.

Ajit said, “As a minister, I need to know the reason behind the deaths and also the state government’s stand if such an incident took place.”