After a warning from the BJP, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Monday toned down his criticism of the party, clarifying that it was not meant for the top leadership, but limited to local leaders ahead of the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporation elections.
Ajit Pawar had earlier said that the BJP's hunger for power is unstoppable and alleged that there was huge corruption in the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad corporations when the BJP was heading them.
The comments did not go down well with the BJP's leadership, which threatened to retaliate if Ajit Pawar did not mend his ways. Maharashtra BJP state president Ravindra Chavan also publicly said that the BJP had made a mistake by joining hands with Ajit Pawar and his party. He said he had warned Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis about this in private.
After the warning, Ajit Pawar praised the work of PM Narendra Modi and CM Fadnavis, saying the governments at both the Centre and state are doing good work.
In explanation, Ajit Pawar further said, "In my 35 years of political life, I have contested many elections, but this election is somewhat different and unique. At the Centre, we are part of the NDA government, and under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, development is progressing rapidly at the national level. In the state, we are running the government together, with Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde, and me working collectively."
He added, "However, in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, the public is witnessing a different picture altogether. A sensible voter may naturally wonder: if we are together at the Centre and in the state, then what exactly has gone wrong here? I want to make it absolutely clear to everyone that a similar situation existed a few years ago as well."
He said that at that time, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government was in power in the state, while the UPA government was ruling at the Centre. Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister, and leaders like Sushilkumar Shinde, Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan, and Vilasrao Deshmukh were heading the state at different times.
"Even then, local body elections were fought separately on local issues, often against each other. The same situation is visible today. Both the Central and state governments are providing ample funds for development works across every corner of Maharashtra. No development scheme is being kept pending by either the Centre or the state. But the question is, what has been the condition of the municipal corporations that have remained under the same leadership for the past several years? There is no fault of the central or state governments in this. The real question is about the performance of the local leadership," he added.
