Opposition spread false information on contractual recruitment GR, alleges Ajit Pawar

Pune: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday accused the opposition parties of spreading false information over the government order meant for recruiting staff on a contract basis, which the Eknath Shinde dispensation has now scrapped.

On Friday, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced scrapping of the government order meant for recruiting staff on a contract basis by nine private agencies, saying that it was the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) dispensation which had taken a decision to hire workforce on a short-term basis.

GRs (government resolutions) related to contractual hiring were issued when Congress leaders Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan helmed the government during the 15-year rule of the Democratic Front (DF) coalition (1999-2014), Fadnavis claimed. But the Congress leaders refused the claim.

Fadnavis' announcement of scrapping the GR came in the wake of opposition parties targeting the Eknath Shinde dispensation over the issue of contractual recruitment.

Talking to reporters here during his visit here, Ajit Pawar said, "The GR was right, but the opposition deliberately spread false propaganda over it. Misunderstanding was created among the youth about this (recruitment) process. Many things were spoken about this GR like people will not get jobs and some will lose their jobs which was incorrect."

Pawar, who leads the rebel faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), was in Pune to review ongoing projects in the city. He visited the proposed site of Mutha riverfront development project in Yerawada at 6 am before going to an Oxygen Park in Kharadi and a water purification centre in the same area.

When asked why he prefers to visit project sites in the morning time, the Pune district guardian minister said, "The only reason I undertake visits to review projects very early in the morning is that people should not get disturbed due to my visit. Whenever I visit any destination, office-goers, school-going students may face problems due to my convoy."

"Hence, I think the early morning visits are beneficial," he said.

Talking about the riverfront project, Pawar said, "The riverfront project in Pune would be better than any other such project in the country."