‘Discussed weather’: Ajit Pawar on first meeting with Fadnavis after fallout
by Express Web DeskBy: Express Web Desk | New Delhi | Updated: December 9, 2019 7:13:21 pm
On November 23, Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister for a second term with Ajit Pawar as his deputy. (File)
A day after the joint public appearance of Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis and NCP leader Ajit Pawar, the first since the fall of their 80-hour government, set tongues wagging, Pawar clarified on Monday the duo discussed “weather” and “rainfall” during the meeting.
“Just because we sat together doesn’t mean something new is cooking. We discussed the weather and rainfall,” PTI quoted Ajit Pawar as saying.
On Sunday, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar shared the stage at the marriage ceremony of independent MLA Sanjay Shinde’s daughter in Solapur district and were seen engaged in a 20-minute animated chat.
Pawar also said it was a coincidence that both the leaders were seated together. “The chairs at the wedding were arranged in such a manner that both of us were seated together. There are no permanent foes in politics. As we were seated together, it was natural for us to talk about the weather,” Pawar further said.
On November 23, in a major turn of events amid the deadlock in government formation in the state, Fadnavis and Pawar were sworn in as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister in an early morning ceremony. This came at a time when coalition talks between the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena were at an advanced stage.
However, the move boomeranged as the Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar government could last for only 80 hours. Both Fadnavis and Pawar resigned on November 26, paving the way for a Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government led by Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.
Recently, Fadnavis told a news channel that it was Ajit Pawar who first approached him to form government in the state, but admitted the move later “boomeranged”.
“He (Ajit Pawar) made me talk to some MLAs who told me they wanted to go with the BJP. He also told me that he had discussed it with (NCP chief) Sharad Pawar,” Fadnavis told news channel Zee 24taas. He also added that it was Pawar who assured him of support of all 54 NCP MLAs.
Last week, Fadnavis questioned the clean chit given to former Deputy Chief Minister and Water Resources Minister Ajit Pawar by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the multi-crore irrigation scam. He said that the ACB findings that led to the agency exonerating Pawar of the allegations he had been facing would not stand legal scrutiny.
(With PTI inputs)
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