Pawar left out of guest list for govt employment fair at Baramati

PUNE: Chief minister Eknath Shinde and his two deputies, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, are slated to attend the state-government-organised Namo Employment Fair at Vidya Pratisthan in Baramati on Saturday. The invitation card lists the names of various public representatives, including NCP (SCP) MP from Baramati Supriya Sule and other MPs from Pune district, but has omitted NCP (SCP) president Sharad Pawar.

Despite the exclusion, however, Pawar has expressed his willingness to attend the event and has even set aside two hours, from 11 am to 1 pm, for it. What’s more, he has written a letter to the CM and his deputies, expressing his desire to attend the programme in his capacity as chairman of the Vidya Pratisthan, an educational institute he founded, which is controlled by the Pawar family.

In a letter dated February 28, followed by a phone call, Pawar extended a lunch invitation to the three leaders at his Govindbaug residence in Baramati. The move comes weeks before the Lok Sabha polls, for which NCP president Ajit Pawar had hinted that he would field his wife Sunetra Pawar against Sule in Baramati.

“It is your first visit to Baramati after becoming chief minister and I am happy about it. I invite you and other cabinet colleagues for lunch at my residence after the programme,” said Pawar’s letter, a copy of which has been viewed by this newspaper.

Commenting on the event, Sule said, “Pawar saheb wrote a letter and even made a phone call to invite the chief minister and two deputy CMs for lunch on March 2 when they are on their Baramati tour. It is an Indian tradition to treat guests like gods according to the principles of Atithi Devo Bhava.”

Responding to a question on Pawar’s being omitted from the invitation card despite his being a Rajya Sabha MP, Sule expressed surprise, stating, “Even I am surprised, as he is still a Rajya Sabha MP but has not been invited, whereas the name of another RS MP, Vandana Chavan, figures on the invitation card.”

Apart from Sule and Chavan, the other NCP (SCP) invitees include Amol Kolhe, Lok Sabha MP from Shirur. Sule reiterated her intention to attend the event as a representative of the people.

Till the time of going to press, no representative from the government, including the CMs and DCMs, had offered any response on why Sharad Pawar’s name was excluded from the invitation card. Officials from the Pune district administration, when approached, declined to comment.

NCP (SCP) legislator Rohit Pawar criticised the government’s decision to not invite Sharad Pawar. Regarding the lunch invitation extended by Pawar, the Karjat-Jamkhed MLA said, “Let’s see if the CM and DCMs have the courage to accept it. However, in Indian tradition, invitees don’t normally turn down such invites.”