With Dhananjay Munde by his side, Ajit Pawar warns party in Beed

MUMBAI: Ajit Pawar, while flatly refusing to sack NCP minister Dhananjay Munde—whose close aide Walmik Karad is the alleged mastermind of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh’s murder—is reading Beed’s NCP party workers the riot act instead. On Thursday, the deputy chief minister warned the workers, who are controlled by Munde, of serious action if found in any law-breaking activities.

Ajit started his maiden tour of Beed district as guardian minister by holding a meeting of the NCP district unit, where he told party workers that he would restore law and order in the district and take action against anyone found guilty of breaking the law, irrespective of political affiliation. “I will not hesitate to invoke even the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against you if you are found involved in any extortion bids,” he told NCP workers.

Ajit also warned that he would cancel their arms licenses if they were found using pistols for random purposes. “We have seen reels on news channels where people are firing in the air and openly carrying pistols to show off,” he said. “I will ask the department to cancel their gun licenses, as pistols are allowed only for security reasons and should be kept at home. I will not tolerate you making reels with pistols.”

The deputy CM stated that he would henceforth monitor his partymen’s conduct. “Direct all the workers to improve their conduct,” he said. “Only if you improve your conduct will I stand by you,” said Ajit, adding that he wanted to stop the “defamation” of Beed district and needed everyone’s support.

Interestingly, Munde was standing right next to Ajit when the admonition of the NCP office-bearers was on. While scolding them, the deputy CM conveniently forgot that Munde had been controlling the party in Beed for over a decade when he was guardian minister of the district.

Munde’s close aide Walmik Karad is being probed for extortion cases linked to the murder of Santosh Deshmukh, a sarpanch who was opposing an extortion bid at a wind power plant in his village. Local elected representatives from almost every party, including Ajit’s NCP and his ally, the BJP, have been demanding Munde’s resignation to ensure a fair probe. However, Ajit made it clear that no action would be taken against the minister. “We read stories about Beed in the newspapers,” he said. “We will take action if there is truth in the allegations, else there is no question of taking action.”

The NCP has been facing the heat ever since Munde’s name cropped up in the murder case. The party leadership has been under tremendous pressure to relieve him of his ministerial post, and that was the reason that Munde was not appointed guardian minister of his hometown, Beed, this time around.

However, Ajit has refused to consider action against him even in the face of alleged evidence. On Monday, activist Anjali Damani met Ajit and showed him alleged evidence of Munde’s financial dealings with Karad. On Tuesday, the BJP’s Suresh Dhas also handed over a pen drive to Ajit with alleged proof against Munde.

Following the NCP district unit meeting, the deputy CM chaired a meeting of the district planning committee in his role as guardian minister. Here, he instructed the police to reduce the crime rate of the district. “If anyone has any complaint, they can approach my office,” he told the public representatives and officials attending the meeting.