The Supreme Court of India.
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Ajit Pawar group of Nationalist Congress Party as to why it was keen to use photo of Sharad Pawar in posters in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections after parting ways with the founder of the party.
"Go with your identity. You can't encash his name. When elections come, you need his name but when it is over, you don't need him," a bench of Justices Surya Kant and K V Vishwanathan told senior advocate Maninder Singh appearing for the Ajit Pawar group.
The court asked Singh to give an undertaking that his group would not use picture of Sharad Pawar group in the publicity materials during the Lok Sabha or Assembly polls.
The bench said the top court has yet not formed its view on the Election Commission's decision to recognise the Ajit Pawar group as real NCP with clock symbol.
Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for the Sharad Pawar group, asked why Ajit Pawar group wanted to ride piggyback on Sharad Pawar group.
There are issues of free and fair elections, level playing field, democracy, which are the basic structure of the Constitution, he said.
Singhvi cited statement of Chhagan Bhujbal about use of picture of Sharad Pawar during campaign in rural areas, saying this is blatant deception. "If they are so confident of winning elections, let them do that on their own," he said.
"Why are you using his picture? Give us an undertaking or we will pass an order. Go with your identity only. You have separated yourself," the bench told Singh.
The court said both the factions should come out with their own identity.
The court asked Singh to give an undertaking on Saturday in this regard as it posted the matter for hearing on March 18.
Sharad Pawar has earlier challenged the Election Commission's decision of February 6, recognising the group by Ajit Pawar as the NCP and awarding it party symbol of 'Clock'.
Sharad Pawar is uncle of Ajit Pawar and has founded the NCP.
Ajit Pawar and eight other legislators of the NCP joined Maharashtra’s ruling coalition of Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and BJP in July, 2023.
On February 15, 2024, in an another setback to Sharad Pawar group, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar ruled that Ajit Pawar's group was the real NCP.
The Speaker had declared the events that unfolded between June 30 and July 2, 2023 were clearly in the nature of intra-party dissent within the NCP and the members of the party stood divided between two leaders. He had rejected the disqualification petitions against each other's group.