Mumbai | Nationalist Congress Party leaders Jayant Patil and Sunil Tatkare, who now belong to rival factions headed by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar, respectively, on Monday hugged each other and shared a brief chat in the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan complex.
As per eyewitnesses, Patil, who noticed Tatkare in the corridor of the legislature complex, hugged the latter and the two had a brief cordial chat for a few minutes, details of which were not immediately available.
Patil later said he hugged Tatkare after they shared a joke and that no other inference should be drawn on political lines.
“We embraced each other after a private joke between us. Although Tatkare and I are in separate parties (NCP factions), it is good to maintain cordial relations with people from other parties,” he said.
Patil said he had lunch with some MLAs of NCP who have gone with Ajit Pawar, but we do not hold any "Mann ki baat" with these legislators anymore.
Politics and relations on a personal level have to be maintained separately,” he added.
Patil said clicking such photos without consent in the corridors of Vidhan Bhavan should be banned.
The NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar, suffered a vertical split on July 2 after Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs, including Chhagan Bhujbal, Hasan Mushrif and Dilip Walse Patil, joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government.
Tatkare, a Lok Sabha member from Raigad, and Rajya Sabha MP Praful
Patel chose to align with Ajit Pawar whereas Jayant Patil, the state unit chief of the undivided party, chose to stay with Sharad Pawar.
Incidentally, after the split, the Ajit Pawar faction announced the appointment of Tatkare as Maharashtra unit chief replacing Patil.
The Sharad Pawar faction had responded by removing Tatkare and Praful Patel from the primary membership of the party and also sought their disqualification as parliamentarians for "anti-party activities".
Notably, Ajit Pawar and MLAs supporting him, ministers of his camp, and Praful Patel had met Sharad Pawar at the YB Chavan Centre here last week and asked him to ensure the party stays united.
Mumbai | Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday expressed displeasure over the sit-in protest by his MLA nephew Rohit Pawar on the premises of Vidhan Bhavan here.
Rohit Pawar sat on a protest demanding industrial development corporation in his Karjat-Jamkhed constituency situated in Ahmednagar district.
Speaking in the assembly, NCP MLA and Sharad Pawar loyalist Anil Deshmukh raised the issue of the protest by Rohit Pawar, who is demanding that a region in his constituency be identified for industrial development.
Responding to Deshmukh, Ajit Pawar said Rohit Pawar's letter raising this particular demand is with the state government.
"The government responded to the letter on July 1 stating that a meeting of all stakeholders will be organised and appropriate decision will be taken. Rohit Pawar should withdraw the protest,” Ajit Pawar said.
He said it was inappropriate for a public representative to resort to protest when the minister concerned has given a proper response to the letter by Rohit Pawar.
"The second week of the Monsoon session of the state legislature starts today. There is still ample time where a meeting can be held here in Vidhan Bhavan,” Ajit Pawar said.
Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar also expressed similar views.
“It has been unanimously decided that people's representatives will not hold sit-in protests near the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (on Vidhan Bhavan premises). However, Rohit Pawar sat there. I will appeal to him to withdraw the protest,” he said.
Rohit Pawar withdrew the protest after state NCP president Jayant Patil and state rural development minister Girish Mahajan, who belongs to BJP, met him and discussed the issue.
Speaking to a regional news channel later, Rohit Pawar said he had regularly followed up with the earlier Maha Vikas Aghadi government to set up an MIDC in his constituency and had even managed to get surveys done despite the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.
"However, despite assurances in the last two legislative sessions, no notification was issued by the state industries minister. That is why I sat on a protest in Vidhan Bhawan," Rohit Pawar claimed.
He also said Deputy CM Ajit Pawar had reacted to his protest after reading "only the first letter" and without proper information.
"I had attached several documents and letters to my application. I think Ajit Pawar made that comment without proper information. Had he read all the documents, he would have taken my side," Rohit Pawar said.
Earlier, state industries minister Uday Samant had assured that a notification would be issued for setting up an MIDC, he said.
"If the minister's assurances are not followed, then what is the use of such sessions. In such a situation, it would be better to sit and protest than go to the House," the Karjat-Jamkhed MLA said.
If a positive decision is not taken on the MIDC by Tuesday, Rohit Pawar said he would undertake a "fast unto death".
