Maharashtra Deputy CM and NCP leader Ajit Pawar.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: In a new dimension into Maharashtra’s multi-crore irrigation scam, Deputy Chief Minister and NCP President Ajit Pawar alleged this party colleague and then Home Minister late R R Patil has backstabbed him and ordered an open inquiry.
Raosaheb Ramrao Patil, better known as R R Patil, who was lovingly called RR or Aaba, passed on February 16 in 2015 after battling cancer.
Patil was considered close to NCP founder-President Sharad Pawar, the now NCP (SP) supremo.
Ajit Pawar referred to the period when Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan was the Chief Minister heading the Democratic Front government.
“The file mentioning Patil’s remarks ordering an inquiry was shown to him by BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis after he became Chief Minister in 2014,” said Ajit Pawar.
The claims came at a rally for the NCP candidate Sanjaykaka Patil who is in the fray against the late Patil’s son Rohit Patil from Tasgaon-Kavathe Mahankal in Sangli district. A former BJP MP from Sangli, Sanjaykaka has joined NCP to contest the seat.
Asked about the comments, Rohit Pawar said: “My father passed away around nine-and-a-half-years ago…people know my father’s work. He had taken several initiatives like the dance bar ban…my father was known for his honesty.”
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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