Ajit Tells NCP Workers To Act Responsibly As Party No Longer Has ‘Saheb’ To Shield

Mumbai: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Friday urged party workers to maintain restraint and discipline in their conduct, as the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) gears up for the upcoming local body elections. Addressing party office-bearers and workers in Pune, Ajit remarked that while earlier Sharad Pawar would shield them from the consequences of their mistakes, they must now take responsibility themselves. The meeting was part of the NCP’s preparations for the upcoming civic polls.

“There’s a significant difference between the Ajit of the past and who I am today. With time comes age, and with age comes maturity. Earlier, no matter what we did, Saheb (Sharad Pawar) was there to shield us. Now, we have to take responsibility ourselves. Jokes aside, I urge you to understand the situation,” the Maharashtra DCM said.

Ajit’s comments come in the backdrop of shifting political dynamics in Maharashtra, where his decision to break away from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Sharad Pawar and align with the ruling alliance continues to stir debate and speculation.

During his address, Ajit was briefly interrupted when a party worker shouted, “Dada, the relationship between uncle and nephew…”. He immediately responded, cutting the worker short. “Don’t talk to me about the uncle-nephew relationship — neither about the past nor the present,” he said firmly, prompting laughter from the audience.

Referring to current floods in various parts of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar said that the state government has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah to provide help to Maharashtra on similar lines to Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. “The state is doing its best to provide the needed help to the flood-affected people, but we also need some support from the center. Recently, the centre provided help to Punjab and Himachal Pradesh when those states were battling flood situations. We have sought similar help for Maharashtra from the centre,” he said.

Admitting that the financial assistance offered by the state government for damaged houses is insufficient, the DCM added, “The state has decided to provide 10 kilograms of food grains and Rs 5,000 as immediate help to those whose residences have been flooded with rainwater. However, during the inspection, I realised that the damage to such houses is quite big, and the help which the state govt is providing will not be enough. Therefore, I will be discussing the issue with the chief minister to increase the immediate help being provided by the state.”