Senior BJP leader and Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde on Thursday asserted that the Government would not shirk from its pre-poll commitment on prosecuting Ministers in the erstwhile Congress-NCP facing corruption charges.
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He was responding to allegations of his party’s ambivalent stance on the unconditional and unsought support from Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party, which has a number of high-level former ministers under the anti-corruption bureau’s (ACB) scanner.
“The people have given us a massive mandate after we exposed the scams of the previous [Congress-NCP] government. Our government will not dither when it comes to pressing charges and pursuing investigations against ministers, irrespective of whichever political party they may belonged to,” said Mr. Tawde, speaking on the sidelines of an event here.
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Mr. Tawde in his capacity as the Leader of Opposition in the last assembly had vociferously demanded resignation of top NCP leaders Ajit Pawar and Sunil Tatkare in connection with the multi-crore irrigation scam, castigating the White Paper on Irrigation that exonerated Ajit Pawar as a “Whitewash Paper.”
Brushing aside suggestions of unease within the party about its tolerance towards the NCP, Mr. Tawde said while the NCP had offered unsolicited support, the BJP had not taken it.
Echoing his party high command, Mr. Tawde said “fruitful” back channel talks were on with the Sena with a view to inviting them to share power.
“Despite the rancor during the breakup of our alliance, we have never considered the Sena to be against us. Even now, though they are bent upon sitting in the Opposition, we would like them to join us,” he said, denying reports that NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s recent remarks about the possibility of snap polls in the State had prompted the BJP to resume talks with its estranged ally, the Shiv Sena.
The NCP’s two-day introspection meet at Alibaug saw Mr. Pawar flip-flopping on his earlier stance of the NCP ensuring stability for the BJP government in the State. Mr. Pawar, who on day one said the NCP could not guarantee the survival of the BJP government, changed tack dramatically on the second day, commenting it was not his party’s intention to topple the government.
The event also unraveled the discomfiture among a section of the top NCP brass, namely Jayant Patil and Mr. Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule, about the party supporting the BJP.
In an anxious effort to dispel notions of fractiousness within the party, Ms. Sule, speaking to reporters in Mumbai said she had been “misquoted” while Ajit Pawar clarified that the NCP was intent to provide a stale government in the State.
“Our leader, Sharad Pawar, has made it clear that the NCP is not out to topple the BJP government in Maharashtra. The party stands by his views,” said Ajit Pawar.