Supriya Sule says, 'We should get back our party and symbol'

NCP leader Supriya Sule/ File Photo/ Shadab Khan

Leader of the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar faction, Supriya Sule, spoke out against the recent changes concerning the party and stressed on the need to recover the party and its emblem.

Sule, voicing her displeasure with the condition of affairs, told ANI, "The way the party has been snatched away from the founding member, this is very wrong. We should get back our party and sign (symbol)...There is democracy in the country, and this is wrong."

NCP leader Jitendra Awhad, echoing Supriya Sule's views, emphasised on the significance of upholding democratic norms, reported ANI.

Awhad told ANI, "I am very happy that Supreme Court was quite clear that they wanted to defend and protect the democratic values in this country... tenth schedule clearly says that you cannot have an independent identity until and unless you merge with a political party... According to me, Ajit Pawar's camp wants to destroy and demolish Sharad Pawar. They want to uproot Sharad Pawar from Maharashtra politics."

The Supreme Court's ruling stated that the temporary injunction allowing Sharad Pawar to use the name 'Nationalist Congress Party - Sharad Chandra Pawar' as the party name will stand till further decisions are made, per the report.

"I am grateful to the Supreme Court for its decision and order that the symbol and the party should be returned within eight days," Sule added.

According to the report, in addition, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Vishwanathan allowed Sharad Pawar to petition the Election Commission of India (ECI) for symbol allocation, promising him a symbol one week after he filed his application.

In response to Sharad Pawar's appeal against the ECI's ruling to acknowledge the Ajit Pawar faction as the legitimate NCP, the court additionally served notice to both the Ajit Pawar faction and the ECI, stated the ANI report.

The disagreement started when the ECI decided in support of the Ajit Pawar group, citing support affidavits from most NCP MLAs. On February 6, the election commission announced that the Ajit Pawar faction is the real NCP and allotted the party's name and 'clock' symbol to the group. However, Sharad Pawar has contested this decision, seeking to restore the party's identity and symbol, the ANI report added.