<p>Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday claimed 'almost all MLAs' of the Nationalist Congress Party had written a letter to Sharad Pawar demanding that the party join the government when the Uddhav Thackeray-led dispensation was on its way out.</p>.<p> Thackeray's Maha Vikas Aghadi government, comprising the NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena, collapsed in June last year after Eknath Shinde rebelled.</p>.<p> The rebellion played out between June 21 last year, when several MLAs left for Surat in Gujarat and onwards to Assam, and culminated on June 30 when Shinde became chief minister with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party.</p>.<p> "When the Uddhav Thackeray's government was about to collapse, almost all NCP MLAs had written a letter to the party chief (Sharad Pawar) asking him to join the government (by supporting the BJP)," Ajit Pawar said at a rally in Kolhapur.</p>.<p> "If it (what he has said) is wrong, then I will retire from active politics immediately. If my claim is right, then those spreading lies should retire," he asserted.</p>.<p> Ajit Pawar, who joined the Shinde government along with eight MLAs on July 2 this year, said "just about anybody is now standing up and speaking against us".</p>.<p> "We respect that in a democracy people have the right to express dissent. We are in power to solve the issues of people," he claimed.</p>.<p> On the issue of Maratha reservations, he said several people from the community were rich but many are poor and there was need to help them.</p>.<p> He said the quota granted to the community when Devendra Fadnavis was in power (between 2014 and 2019) was upheld by the High Court but was set aside by the Supreme Court.</p>.Getting people’s work done was major reason for joining NDA: Ajit Pawar.<p> "When giving reservations to the Maratha community, it must be ensured that Other Backward Classes are not affected. Only discussions and meetings will solve this dilemma," he said.</p>.<p> The issue of Maratha quota took centrestage in the state on September 1 after agitators faced police action in Jalna district.</p>.<p> Police had to resort to force after a group protesting for quota in Antarwali Sarati there refused to let authorities admit a man on hunger strike in hospital.</p>.<p> The resulting violence led to injuries to several people, including 40 policemen, while 15 state transport buses were set ablaze.</p>.<p> Speaking on local issues, the deputy CM said Kolhapur must build an Information Technology sector like Hyderabad.</p>.<p> Farmers in some districts have not got cash benefit transfers under various schemes so far and the state government will take measures to rectify the situation, he added.</p>.<p> Before heading to Kolhapur, Ajit Pawar attended a roadshow in Pune.</p>
<p>Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday claimed 'almost all MLAs' of the Nationalist Congress Party had written a letter to Sharad Pawar demanding that the party join the government when the Uddhav Thackeray-led dispensation was on its way out.</p>.<p> Thackeray's Maha Vikas Aghadi government, comprising the NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena, collapsed in June last year after Eknath Shinde rebelled.</p>.<p> The rebellion played out between June 21 last year, when several MLAs left for Surat in Gujarat and onwards to Assam, and culminated on June 30 when Shinde became chief minister with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party.</p>.<p> "When the Uddhav Thackeray's government was about to collapse, almost all NCP MLAs had written a letter to the party chief (Sharad Pawar) asking him to join the government (by supporting the BJP)," Ajit Pawar said at a rally in Kolhapur.</p>.<p> "If it (what he has said) is wrong, then I will retire from active politics immediately. If my claim is right, then those spreading lies should retire," he asserted.</p>.<p> Ajit Pawar, who joined the Shinde government along with eight MLAs on July 2 this year, said "just about anybody is now standing up and speaking against us".</p>.<p> "We respect that in a democracy people have the right to express dissent. We are in power to solve the issues of people," he claimed.</p>.<p> On the issue of Maratha reservations, he said several people from the community were rich but many are poor and there was need to help them.</p>.<p> He said the quota granted to the community when Devendra Fadnavis was in power (between 2014 and 2019) was upheld by the High Court but was set aside by the Supreme Court.</p>.Getting people’s work done was major reason for joining NDA: Ajit Pawar.<p> "When giving reservations to the Maratha community, it must be ensured that Other Backward Classes are not affected. Only discussions and meetings will solve this dilemma," he said.</p>.<p> The issue of Maratha quota took centrestage in the state on September 1 after agitators faced police action in Jalna district.</p>.<p> Police had to resort to force after a group protesting for quota in Antarwali Sarati there refused to let authorities admit a man on hunger strike in hospital.</p>.<p> The resulting violence led to injuries to several people, including 40 policemen, while 15 state transport buses were set ablaze.</p>.<p> Speaking on local issues, the deputy CM said Kolhapur must build an Information Technology sector like Hyderabad.</p>.<p> Farmers in some districts have not got cash benefit transfers under various schemes so far and the state government will take measures to rectify the situation, he added.</p>.<p> Before heading to Kolhapur, Ajit Pawar attended a roadshow in Pune.</p>