NCP leaders force Pawar to make U-turn on report

Mumbai: In an unprecedented turn of events, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar came under heavy fire from leaders of his own party. He suggested that the government not table the Maharashtra State Backward Commission report in the House if it would lead to a constitutional dilemma. This irked his colleagues and he was forced to clarify his statement before the media. Mr Pawar accepted his mistake and later asked the state government to present the report before both Houses at the earliest.  

Mr Pawar, during his intervention in the Assembly on Tuesday morning, said, “If the government feels that the tabling of the report could lead to constitutional complications, it should avoid it. We all feel that reservation should be granted to the community so there should not be any hurdle. In that case, the government should think wisely and take a decision.”

Interestingly, Mr Pawar said this at a time when the entire Opposition has been asking for the report to be tabled. Opposition leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who spoke just before Mr Pawar on the issue, has asked immediate tabling of the report. Not just that, the Opposition has asked the government to start a discussion on reserva-tion for Dhangars, Muslims, Mahadev Kolis, the Halba Koshti and other communities. So, when Mr Pawar was seen unintentionally helping the state government over tabling the report, everyone from Opposition bench was shocked.

When the House was adjourned, NCP leaders met at the party office and asked Mr Pawar to clarify his stand. One eyewitness said a senior leader asked Mr Pawar to immediately clarify his position before the media and say that his statement in the House was his own and not the party’s.