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Journalism of Courage
Advising his supporters to not waste time on criticising the leaders from Ajit Pawar group, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said that had he not advised Chhagan Bhujbal to resign from the deputy chief minister’s post over Telgi scam, he would have landed in jail in 2003.
“Had I not taken the resignation of Bhujbal, he would have landed in jail,” Pawar told the party leaders in an indoor meeting held to discuss NCP’s poll prospects. His nephew Ajit, along with other senior leaders on July 2, joined hands with the BJP after which Sharad Pawar announced to rebuild his party by touring the state. On Tuesday, Pawar appointed Rohini Khadse — daughter of party MLC Eknath Khadse — as the president of NCP women’s wing.
Earlier, Pawar also asked his supporters to not go on criticising the leaders of Ajit Pawar group who are targeting him. “Do not have confusion. Be ready to fight. This is the battle of ideologies and we will fight it with ideology. Have no doubt about it as the people stand with us,” he said.
At a public rally in Beed on August 27, Bhujbal recalled how he was asked to resign by Pawar from the deputy CM’s post in 2003 owing to Telgi scam and went on to narrate how it was him who arrested Telgi and it was unjust to remove him from the post. “The CBI chargesheet does not even have my name,” he said.
He also said nobody sought Sharad Pawar’s resignation in the 1990s when allegations were levelled against him by some people, including GR Khairnar, then deputy municipal commissioner of Bombay (now Mumbai) civic body. Sharad Pawar was the chief minister of Maharashtra from March 1993 to March 1995 — his third stint — when Khairnar, known as “demolition man” for taking action on illegal encroachments in Mumbai, had raised certain allegations.
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