Ajit Pawar on Uddhav’s “worthless” remark: People do not know what to speak when they get mic in hand
Pawar’s remarks are likely to cause a stir as the NCP shared power with Sena for two-and-half years, and continues to be their alliance in the MVA
Leader of the Opposition and senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) member Ajit Pawar has once again snubbed ally Shiv Sena (UBT faction) and its top leader Uddhav Thackeray at a time when the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is planning public rallies across the state to target the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Speaking at a farmers’ meeting in Satara on Sunday, Pawar said, without naming Thackeray, “Some people don’t know what to say when they get a microphone in their hands. They call themselves fadtus (worthless), while others call themselves Kartoos (cartridge).”
Pawar’s remarks came just days after Thackeray called Maharashtra deputy chief minister (DCM) Devendra Fadnavis a fadtus (worthless) home minister after a woman worker from the Thackeray-led faction was allegedly attacked by Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) activists.
Fadnavis retaliated, saying Thackeray was a “weak” Chief Minister who had sacrificed his ideology for the sake of power and should be ignored. The deputy chief minister went on to say, “I’m not fadtus (worthless), but kartoos (cartridge). Fadnavis then added, “Main jhukega nahin sala. (I will not bend, but I will enter your stronghold and beat you).”
While interacting with the media on Sunday, Pawar took exception to the verbal spat between Thackeray and Fadnavis. Pawar’s remarks are likely to cause a stir as the NCP shared power with Sena for two-and-half years, and continues to be their alliance in the MVA.
“Why can’t we follow in the footsteps of Yashwantrao Chavan and others who were instrumental in creating a cultured Maharashtra?” Pawar asked.
Earlier on Saturday, Ajit Pawar stated that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are reliable and cannot be tampered with, contradicting an editorial published in Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ that claimed the BJP wins elections by “hacking” EVMs.
On the same day, Pawar rubbished claims of Sena leaders Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s degree certificate.
According to Ajit Pawar, “Issues such as inflation, rising prices of essential commodities and deteriorating law and order were more important than the PM’s degree.”
