In a sudden decision, senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar resigned as MLA on Friday night. Mr. Pawar, the nephew of NCP president Sharad Pawar, has also been named by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the FIR in the alleged scam at the Maharashtra State Cooperative (MSC) Bank.
Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagde confirmed to The Hindu that Mr. Pawar had sent his resignation via fax and spoken to him over the phone. “We have been colleagues in the legislative house for a long time. I asked him the reason for his resignation, but he said he will explain the reason in future. I have accepted his resignation,” Mr. Bagde said.
Minutes before resigning, Mr. Pawar had tweeted, “Overwhelmed to see the huge gathering in Mumbai today, in support of @PawarSpeaks [Sharad Pawar]. Heartfelt thanks to @NCPSpeaks officials, party workers & also our opponents who stood up for the truth in spite of our differences. I am sure this belief in Pawar Saheb will never fade.”
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Party leaders had no clue about Mr Pawar’s decision until the news broke on social media and news portals. “I have no idea about any such development and the reason behind Ajit Pawar resigning from the MLA post. We will have to wait for the details,” Mumbai NCP president Nawab Malik said.