Maharashtra Chief Minister Dismisses NCP Merger Talks, Stands by Alliance
Mumbai: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has categorically denied any knowledge of merger discussions between the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). In a statement to the media, Fadnavis said, 'If the discussions on merger had gone to a final stage, Ajitdada [Pawar] would have informed us; which date had been decided... He is in our government and without sharing with us would he have taken a decision? I have no idea on what discussion took place between him and Sharad Pawar, between him and others.'
As far as we are concerned, we have no idea about the date of merger, he added. The late deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar, shared everything with him, Fadnavis emphasized. The CM's statement came a day after NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar claimed that February 12 had been finalized to announce a merger between the two NCP factions.
Fadnavis further clarified, 'Two things I will say, if Ajit Pawar was holding discussions on the merger, would he have done so without taking BJP into confidence? Second, supposing he was holding such discussions, was he doing it to get out of the NDA when he was stable in the government? Some like to daily create confusion and then use one's ecosystem to amplify the confusion... You all know that the relationship between Ajitdada and me was such that he shared everything with me. Even a day before his unfortunate death, we both sat together chit chatting for an hour.'
Rejecting the charge that Sunetra Pawar's swearing-in ceremony was rushed, Fadnavis pointed out that when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated, the Congress took a decision to nominate Rajiv Gandhi to the PM's post even before her last rites were performed. 'Depending upon the circumstances, every party takes a decision,' he said. 'NCP has taken a decision that Sunetra Pawar should now lead the party and they decided that she should be sworn-in as deputy CM. NCP is our alliance partner and it is our responsibility to stand by them,' Fadnavis added.
Fadnavis, who now has the finance portfolio, said he would be presenting the state budget. 'Presenting the budget does not mean merely making a speech... a series of meetings have to be held with every department. Every department's allocation has to be done, make sure they do not make supplementary demands, and ensure all their proposals are incorporated. Tai (Sunetra Pawar) has just become deputy CM and it is not possible for NCP to carry out this big exercise immediately. So we sat together and decided that I will keep the finance portfolio and complete the exercise. After the budget, we will discuss and take a decision on the portfolio,' he explained.
On the air crash which resulted in Ajit Pawar's death, Fadnavis said the incident is being investigated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). 'After their report (is obtained), we will take action. The black box, which has all the communication including the internal communication between the two pilots, has been found. So, the truth will come out,' Fadnavis concluded.
