MUMBAI: NCP-SP MP and daughter of former Union minister Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, dismissed all speculation of a merger with the NCP of Ajit Pawar on Thursday.
Talking to the New Indian Express, Sule denied any such move, saying there was no such proposal. She asserted that there had been no change in her stand.
Sharad Pawar recently said his daughter would decide her future and the party’s. That led to speculation that he and his nephew, Ajit Pawar, were merging their parties.
Clearing the air, Sule said that the statement by the senior Pawar had been twisted. “I am occupied in policy-making work. We have been working on the income tax and the One Nation, One Election Bill. As a policy maker, I take my job very seriously, so there is no time to react and think about what the media has been speculating.”
She confirmed that if anything were to happen, it would be between Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and herself, and there was no place for a third person or a third party to intervene and speak on their behalf.
“Ajit Pawar has also clarified that there is no such proposal to merge both NCPs. So, my statement is also the same. I am standing where I was standing. There is no change of stand in my ideology and commitment. I am firm. Therefore, there is neither acceptance nor denial of the report. Everything is in the air. Before I make any statement, everyone is speaking about it,” she lamented.
Clarifying her father’s original statement, Sule said that when asked about her future, Sharad Pawar had said, “She has to decide.” According to her, “it was an obvious answer.”
She said his response was taken to mean something else. “The question was limited, so the answer, but the media is stretching the issue and speculating about the non-existent thing. Therefore, in our party, no one has reacted to it.”
