NCP mulls action against rebel MLAs, Sharad Pawar says some 'in touch' with him; rejects coup 'had his blessings'

Addressing NCP workers and supporters in Maharashtra day after Ajit Pawar led a vertical split in the party to become the deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde-led government, Sharad Pawar said there was a need to fight forces creating a communal divide in the country.

Karad/Satara (Maharashtra):Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday rejected speculation that his nephew Ajit Pawar's rebellion has his blessings and said that the party would take appropriate action against those MLAs who defected and took oath on Sunday.

Addressing a press conference in Satara, Sharad Pawar also said he has launched a statewide tour to strengthen the NCP and boost party workers' confidence, unfazed by a few leaders' actions. He added that party's state President Jayant Patil has the right to take any action against those MLAs who took oath in the Maharashtra cabinet yesterday.

Asked whether Ajit Pawar's rebellion on Sunday had his blessings, the NCP chief said, "It is a mean thing to say. Only those with a mean and low intellect can say this." "I have set out on a tour of the state and galvanize the cadre. They should not feel disillusioned with what some leaders have done," Pawar said.

Pawar senior said that many from the Ajit Pawar camp had called him and said "their ideology is not different from that of NCP and they will take a final call in the next few days". On Sunday, Ajit Pawar led a vertical split in the NCP to become the deputy chief minister. Eight other NCP leaders were also sworn in as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-BJP government.

Earlier in the day while addressing NCP workers and supporters in Karad, Sharad Pawar said there was a need to fight forces creating a communal divide in Maharashtra and the country. He also said that "some of our people fell prey to BJP's tactics to break other parties."

In Karad, Sharad Pawar visited the memorial of his mentor and Maharashtra's first chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan in Karad and paid floral tributes to him. The 82-year-old leader's visit to late Chavan's memorial 'Pritisangam' on the occasion of Guru Purnima is being seen as a show of strength by him, a day after his nephew Ajit Pawar led a vertical split in the NCP.

"Attempts are being made to create communal divide in Maharashtra and the country. We need to fight forces that create fear among peace-loving citizens," he said. "We need to protect democracy in the country," he added. The NCP chief also said a "wrong kind of tendency" was rearing its head and the same tendency attempted to break the party in the state which was working on democratic principles.

"The objective behind this is to take the country's affairs ahead with the help of these communal ideologies, and the same tendency took the same approach to turn things upside down in the state. Unfortunately, some of our colleagues fell prey to these tactics," he said. The common man from Maharashtra, the land of Shahu Maharaj, Phule and Ambedkar, will show the tendencies, which are instrumental in breaking the other parties, their right place, he said.

"In the next few months, we will get an opportunity to go to the people and with their help, we will push these tendencies aside and once again we will create a system that will work in the interest of the common people," he said. The NCP has taken a decision to create a consensus in the state and the start of that mission has started from Karad, where the memorial of Yashwantrao Chavan is located, on the occasion of Guru Purnima, he said.

Sharad Pawar said there was a time when they came together as Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray and formed government, but some people, by "hook or crook", toppled the government. "It is not just happening in Maharashtra, but they are doing it in other states also. The Madhya Pradesh government, led by (Congress leader) Kamalnath, was toppled in a similar manner and the government, which encouraged communalism came into existence," he said.

Earlier, Sharad Pawar left from Pune for Karad on Monday morning and stopped along the way to meet supporters who lined up on roadsides to greet him and extend support to him. In Karad, he was welcomed by thousands of supporters and local NCP MLA Balasaheb Patil. NCP's Satara Lok Sabha member Shriniwas Patil and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan, who hails from Karad, were also present. (Agency inputs)