Mumbai, Nov 2 Seeking to quell fresh speculation of a rift following the demise of Ajit Pawar, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Monday brushed aside reports of internal friction over a high-profile meeting between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and a delegation of senior party leaders in New Delhi.
The party’s defence came even as the absence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar and her sons Parth and Jay during the talks raised eyebrows in political circles.
NCP national chief spokesperson Umesh Patil sought to dismiss reports claiming that party president Sunetra Pawar, along with Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar, were sidelined during the Delhi parleys, and termed such claims “incorrect, baseless and misleading”.
NCP leaders who met Shah in Delhi late on Sunday returned to the city and held a series of closed-door deliberations at state Minister Chhagan Bhujbal’s residence here.
Senior leader Dilip Walse Patil, who was part of the delegation to meet Shah, told PTI that all leaders who met the Union minister on Sunday have returned to the city.
“The core group will meet now and DCM Sunetra Pawar in the evening,” Walse Patil said.
The meeting with Shah comes in the backdrop of the setback the party faced in the recent Maharashtra legislative council elections where it lost the Aurangabad Graduates seat it held for 18 years.
The party had also been demanding the finance portfolio, which was held by late Ajit Pawar till his death in a tragic plane crash in January this year.
Party leaders Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Dilip Walse Patil, Hassan Mushrif, Chhagan Bhujbal and Dhananjay Munde met Shah in Delhi.
“Sunetra Pawar and Parth Pawar had earlier met Shah and discussed various issues facing the party following the death of Ajit Pawar. During that meeting, she had informed Shah that a delegation of senior party leaders would meet him and requested him to give them time,” Patil said.
The senior leaders were well-versed in important issues from Ajit Pawar’s tenure, matters concerning the state’s interests and various party-related issues, he said, adding the meeting was held on Sunday in this context.
“Attempts are being made to give an unnecessary political twist to the meeting and create a narrative of internal differences and lack of coordination within the party. The NCP is an important constituent of the Mahayuti alliance and remains united under the leadership of Sunetra Pawar,” he said.
The media must verify facts before reporting on the NCP, Patil asserted.
“Do not politicise formal meetings between leaders of alliance partners. Speculation should not be portrayed as fact,” the NCP leader added.
(PTI News)
