NCP threatens to quit Mahauti after Shiv Sena minister’s ‘vomit’ comment
Mumbai: The cracks in the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra has once again come to fore with Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena minister Tanaji Sawant condemning their alliance partner – the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP. Sawant said that his party’s proximity to the NCP made him vomit, calling it an ‘allergic reaction.’ Reacting strongly, the Ajit Pawar NCP group has threatened to quit the Mahayuti if Sawant was not removed from the cabinet.
Calling himself a hardcore Shiv Sainik, Sawant, who is a state health minister, said, “It is true that in our lives, we have never gotten along with the Congress or the NCP. Even if we sit next to each other in the cabinet, I feel like vomiting after coming out.”
“It’s like an allergic reaction, where just the mere presence causes discomfort and nausea. The ideologies are completely different, and therefore, it is not possible to be in agreement with them,” he said speaking at an event in Dharashiv.
Sawant added, “Even when I sit together in the cabinet with NCP chief Ajit Pawar, as soon as I step outside, I feel nauseous. It is something that cannot be tolerated. We are committed to our principles.”
The minister’s remarks have left Ajit Pawar’s NCP fuming with their leaders demanding the minister be sacked. “Either he (Sawant) stays or the NCP. If he is not sacked, we should quit the Mahayuti Cabinet. I request our national president Ajit Pawar and all our senior leaders to quit the Cabinet,” said party spokesperson Umesh Patil.
“Ajit Pawar should not attend any Cabinet meeting till Sawant is sacked. Even our ministers should boycott Cabinet meetings till Sawant is sacked. We will not accept Sawant’s apology or statement that he was misinterpreted. We want him out immediately,” he added.
Expressing his fury, another NCP leader Amol Mitkari asked whether it was the responsibility of only his party to keep the alliance intact. “We are quiet only to maintain the coalition dharma. It is only the chief minister who can ‘treat’ his nausea,” he said.
The BJP, Shiv Sena led by chief minister Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar’s NCP are partners in the state’s ruling Mahayuti coalition in the state. Last year in July, Ajit Pawar effected a vertical split in the Sharad Pawar-led NCP and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government as a deputy chief minister. Majority of NCP MLAs supported his move by siding with him. Subsequently, the Ajit Pawar faction got the party name and its clock symbol. Since the split, both factions have been targeting each other.
