Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 4 : BJP and Shiv Sena leaders on Saturday slammed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar's remarks amid jostling for Pimpri Chinchwad local body polls.
BJP leader Navneet Rana hit back at Ajit Pawar over his recent remarks ahead of the polls for the Pimpri Chinchwad civic body, saying "no one should cross their limits while speaking".
The remarks of Navneet Rana, a former MP, came hours after Maharashtra BJP Chief Ravindra Chavan slammed Ajit Pawar's remarks made during a press conference in Pimpri-Chinchwad on Friday. Chavan said Ajit Pawar should first introspect before levelling allegations.
Navneet Rana said Ajit Pawar formed his party with support from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
"With the support of CM Devendra Fadnavis, Ajit Dada formed this entire party. They formed the government. No one should cross their limits while speaking," she told ANI.
The remarks come amid an intensifying political face-off between the BJP and the NCP ahead of the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections. While both parties are allies in the state and central governments, they are contesting the civic polls separately, leading to sharp exchanges at the local level.
Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC stated that when there are serious allegations involving leaders, parties must demonstrate accountability and sensitivity to public trust.
She said, "No one is saying that a person becomes guilty the moment an FIR is registered... When there are serious allegations involving leaders, we must demonstrate accountability and sensitivity to public trust."
In his remarks, Ravindra Chavan warned Ajit Pawar against indulging in allegation-and-counter-allegation politics.
"These remarks by Ajit Pawar has been given in the backdrop of the local body elections. He should first look within himself (Khud ke Gireban Mai Jhank kar dekhna Chaiye) and consider which party he is talking about. Is he referring to the party led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Prime Minister Narendra Modi?... Instead of making such statements and allegations at the backdrop of the election in the media, he should go to the agencies," he said.
"How allegations and counter-allegations are to be made is something Ajit Pawar will have to decide. If we start doing the same, it will create a lot of trouble for him, and he should keep that in mind," Chavan added.
Emphasising the party's development-focused agenda, the Maharashtra BJP chief said the Pune civic elections should be centred on governance and delivery of basic amenities to citizens.
"This election is about a developed Pune. It is about deciding who can provide better civic amenities to the people here, and the BJP can do that. That is precisely why I am here to say this," the BJP leader said.
Later in the day, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, while reacting to the remarks of Union MoS Murlidhar Mohol, said, that the Constitution grants every individual the right to express their views, while urging the media to recall certain past issues.
Speaking to reporters in Pune, Ajit Pawar said, "The Constitution has given him the right to speak. There is a person named Ghaywal (a Pune based gangster who is absconding he had been booked in multiple crime) look at how he went abroad. Also check the Jain Boarding land scam. I am not making any allegation, but I am reminding the media of this."
Ajit Pawar had also taken a veiled dig at MoS Murlidhar Mohol's remarks over "criminal background" of NCP candidates.
"I want to ask those who are questioning us should see who had helped a person to abscond (a fugitive Criminal) and also take out the record of the last 15 years, how many candidates with a criminal background are being filled by whom?" he asked.
"If a crime is registered against someone tomorrow, does that person become guilty even before the crime is proven... even allegations worth Rs 70,000 crore were made against me. The people who made those allegations against me are they all with me today or not? Tell me...," he added.
Mohol had questioned the candidates with criminal background being filled by the NCP in Pune.
"Pune's Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar says that crime in this city should end and that koyta gangs should be eliminated. But on the other hand, if you look at the list of candidates given by his side from East Pune to South and from there to North Pune, it clearly shows what kind of elements they have accommodated. We do not know what criteria this fits into," he said.
Polling for the local body elections in Maharashtra will be held on January 15.