Praful Patel Says NCP Chief Appointment Reports ‘Baseless’
“It has come to my notice that some news reports are being circulated regarding my appointment as the National President of the Nationalist Congress Party. I want to state very clearly that all these reports are completely baseless and there is no truth to them”: Praful Patel
MUMBAI: With the reports of his anointment of NCP president causing a major stir in Maharashtra politics, NCP leader and former civil aviation minister Praful Patel on Sunday clarified that he has not been appointed as the NCP president following the death of Ajit Pawar.
“It has come to my notice that some news reports are being circulated regarding my appointment as the National President of the Nationalist Congress Party. I want to state very clearly that all these reports are completely baseless and there is no truth to them,” said Patel.
His remarks came on the backdrop of claims made by senior BJP leader and union minister Piyush Goyal that Patel had been appointed as the president of the NCP. In an interview, Goyal mentioned that after Ajit Pawar’s death, Patel will now serve as the national president of the NCP.
Goyal’s claims evoked sharp reaction in the political circles, most notable from the MNS chief Raj Thackeray, who criticized Patel’s appointment. “The national president of a truly Maharashtrian party rooted in the rugged soil of Maharashtra, like the NCP, should be a Patil, not a Patel,” he quipped. The NCP workers also supported Raj Thackeray’s stance on social media.
As his name started being discussed, Patel issued the clarification through social media stating that the reports were baseless. “It has come to my notice that some news reports are being circulated regarding my appointment as the National President of the Nationalist Congress Party. I want to state very clearly that all these reports are completely baseless and there is no truth to them,” he said.
Patel further said that the NCP is a party that operates on democratic values. “The party has a well-established and transparent process for such a major and important decision. Such selections are made only after considering the sentiments of senior leaders, MLAs, party office-bearers and grassroots workers,” he added.
Later, Goyal also clarified that what he said was based on wrong information passed on by a journalist. “A senior journalist had given me incorrect information that Praful Patel has been elected as the president of the NCP. Without verifying the information, I had given some statements in the media, but later it came to light that the information was wrong and the NCP is continuing to work under the leadership of deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar. I express my regret for the misleading information,” he said.
