Senior NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Dilip Walse Patil on Sunday dismissed reports that he joined the Ajit Pawar camp because of a notice issued by the Enforcement Directorate.
Speaking at an event in his Assembly constituency Ambegaon in Pune district, a week after he was sworn in as a minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP government, Walse Patil said he owes his political existence to the Pawar senior.
Walse Patil was one of the nine MLAs of the Nationalist Congress Party who joined the state cabinet last Sunday led by Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar.
"I did not leave Sharad Pawar because of any notice from ED. I haven't received any notice from the ED, CBI or Income Tax," Walse Patil told the gathering.
He claimed there was no personal interest behind his decision to align with Ajit Pawar.
"I heard somebody saying that I took this decision because Parag and Govardhan Dairy had received a notice from ED. I would like to clarify that I have nothing to do with these dairies. No one from our family has invested even a single rupee in these dairies," the NCP veteran, once a close confidante of the Pawar senior, said.
Walse Patil said the battle of the Ajit Pawar camp is not against Pawar saheb, as the NCP founder is popularly known.
"Whatever I am today is because of Pawar saheb. I would like to tell people that whenever saheb will visit Ambegaon, you all must attend his programme. I am not worried about upcoming elections," he added.