Accept Ajit resignation,Sharad Pawar tells Maha CM Chavan

He said the resignation of all other NCP ministers have been rejected and they would resume their official duties from tomorrow.

Ajit Pawar,53-year-old nephew of Sharad Pawar,had resigned on Tuesday following media reports about his alleged involvement in a Rs 20,000 crore scam when he held the irrigation portfolio between 1999 and 2009,plunging the 13-year-old Congress-NCP coalition in the state into a crisis.

NCP suspected Chief Minister Chavan had leaked “damaging information” to the media though Congress rubbished the charge,saying in the age of RTI,all information can be easily obtained.

Addressing the media,Pawar senior said the NCP legislators had demanded in the meeting that a white paper on the status of irrigation projects in the state be brought out at the earliest.

The Chief Minister’s announcement to publish a white paper on the irrigation projects had angered NCP whose ministers have been holding the irrigation portfolio ever since the coalition came into existence.

Chavan’s announcement had followed tabling of the state’s Economic Survey in the Legislative Assembly which said only 0.1 per cent of additional land had been brought under irrigation during a decade despite Rs 72,000 crore having been spent.

A meeting of the NCP legislature party had on Wednesday requested Ajit Pawar to withdraw his resignation but the leader remained adamant. However,they had left to Sharad Pawar the final decision on the issue of the resignation of Ajit Pawar and 19 other ministers who had quit on Tuesday to express their solidarity with their leader.

While announcing his resignation which had taken everybody by surprise,Ajit Pawar had made it clear that he would continue to lead the NCP legislature party as long as he enjoys its support.

Sharad Pawar today thanked the legislators for helping him take all decisions unanimously.

“All decisions were unanimous for which I thank the legislature party. Your hopes of Pawar versus Pawar have been dashed,” the NCP boss said,apparently taking a dig at the media which had dubbed the developments as a clash between the two Pawars with the nephew trying to emerge from the shadows of the uncle by rallying the legislators behind him.

The NCP chief quoted Ajit Pawar as having said in the meeting that he would not accept a ministerial responsibility till the proposed white paper established his innocence.

Ajit Pawar was,however,not present when the NCP boss was speaking to the media.

There is a conspiracy to malign my image: Ajit Pawar

Senior NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar today said there was “a conspiracy to malign his image”; and he would not withdraw his resignation.

He was speaking at the ongoing meeting of NCP legislators at Vidhan Bhawan here,attended by party chief and Union Minister Sharad Pawar,to resolve the crisis created by the surprise resignation.

“I am firm on my stand. I will not withdraw the resignation,” Ajit was quoted as saying by the party sources present at the meeting.

Amid speculation that his resignation was the indicator of rift between him and Sharad Pawar,Ajit said that Sharad Pawar was like “God” to him,and he would abide by the NCP supremo’s decision,sources added.

Ajit had said earlier that he was resigning in the wake of allegations of corruption in the irrigation projects.