‘Not his business’: Sharad Pawar rebukes Fadnavis over merger claims

Mumbai: Days after Devendra Fadnavis said that Ajit Pawar has not informed the BJP about any plans of merger between the NCP and the NCP (SP), the Pawar-family patriarch Sharad Pawar on Wednesday snubbed  him saying that the Maharashtra chief minister was not involved in the talks between the two parties. 

"I do not understand, what right does he have to mention my name? As he was nowhere in the merger talks, he has no right to comment on it,” Pawar told reporters in his hometown of Baramati. 

Asked if the merger will take place now, Sharad Pawar said that currently their priority is to support each other and then decide how to go ahead.

"As far as political discussions are concerned, we are not talking to anyone," he added.

Sharad Pawar stated that the merger talks were taking place between his late nephew Ajit Pawar, who was then the deputy chief minister and NCP president and NCP (SP) leader and former minister Jayant Patil. 

Three days after the death of Ajit Pawar, the NCP (SP) chief said that his nephew and Jayant Patil had fixed 12 February for a merger of the two parties, however, with the death of Ajit Pawar, things seems to be on hold. 

However, reacting to the statement, Fadnavis, who heads the the BJP-led Maha Yuti government had said: "Ajit Dada was part of the government…the NCP is an independent party which is part of the Maha Yuti alliance…could he have taken such a decision without informing us…he was stable in the government…in fact, the day before (the plane crash)…we were together (after the Cabinet meeting)…and chatted for more than an hour.”