Mumbai: Upset at not being invited for the MoU signing event with Toyota Kirloskar for a car manufacturing project in Maharashtra, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar called Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to express his displeasure and asked him to adhere to alliance dharma, reminding him that his NCP was also part of the Mahayuti government.
About The Origin Of The Issue
Pawar, along with Industries Minister Uday Samant, who too had not been formally invited, reached the venue soon thereafter, to grace the event. Neither Pawar nor Samant was invited for the MoU signing that took place at Sahyadri, the state guest house, at Malabar Hill. At the time the ceremony was about to begin, Pawar and Samant were at a meeting reviewing issues concerning the industries department, sources in the NCP told the FPJ.
Upon seeing that both senior officials from the industries department and the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) were absent, Pawar asked their juniors about the no-show. When he was informed that all of them had gone to Sahyadri for the MoU, Pawar asked Uday Samant,
“How come you are here? You should have been at the venue, being the head of the industries department.” When Samant said he too had not been invited, Pawar expressed his dismay and asked his staff to connect him to CM Shinde. On the phone call with Shinde, Pawar is believed to have told the CM that theirs was an alliance government and not only was he excluded from an important event but the industries minister too was overlooked.
Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde Expresses Displeasure
CM Shinde is said to have expressed surprise and assured his deputy that he would ensure that the programme was on until Pawar and Samant reached Sahyadri. Abandoning the ongoing meeting, the duo then headed for Sahyadri, sources said.
The incident has only served to expose the cracks within the Mahayuti, said NCP sources. Only recently, there was a hot debate over credit for the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme. While Ajit Pawar, being the head of the finance department, had announced the scheme while presenting the state budget in the legislature, CM Shinde is said to have asked officials to issue the government resolution (GR) the same evening, when it should have been issued only after the mandatory approval of the state legislature.
During Ajit Pawar’s recent tour of Ahmednagar district when he attended three events where women were invited to discuss the scheme, the banners and hoardings specifically mentioned ‘Majhi Ladki Bahin’, with the words ‘Mukhya Mantri’ being omitted.
