In Pune on Sunday, Walse-Patil said the NCP boss had never been given a majority to install his own chief minister although he was considered one of the towering leaders in national politics
Cooperation Minister Dilip Walse-Patil at his bungalow in Malabar Hill. File Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
Once the party president's trusted aide and now a renegade, Cooperation Minister Dilip Walse-Patil on Monday said he never meant to criticise Sharad Pawar. In Pune on Sunday, Walse-Patil said the NCP boss had never been given a majority to install his own chief minister although he was considered one of the towering leaders in national politics.
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‘But, I’m not wrong’
Patil, who joined the Shinde-Fadnavis government under the leadership of Ajit Pawar in July, insisted that he was not wrong, because he had made a similar observation at (unified) party meetings and conventions. Walse-Patil's clarifications came following backlash from the rival camp. Even the Ajit-led group had taken a breather, considering the ill-effects of Sharad Pawar’s criticism.
“I have not criticised Pawar saheb. And I have not said anything wrong. I can never use bad language against Pawar saheb. I express regrets for the misunderstanding (caused by my statements),” he said a day after stoking controversy during his address to the party workers in Pune on Sunday. “In my speech, I talked about how the people of Maharashtra have not strongly supported the leader who has put in 40-50 years of his life in their service,” Walse-Patil said.
If Mamata, Mayawati can...’
Walse-Patil had also mentioned West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Bahujan Samaj Party president and former Uttar Pradesh CM Mayawati, whose regional parties had grown phenomenally while the NCP had a limited influence.
He had said, “We say that the country has no leader taller than Pawar saheb and on the other hand, the people of Maharashtra have never given him a majority. Pawar saheb couldn't be the CM on his own, whereas Mamata Banerjee and Mayawati made it. Despite having a leader like Sharad Pawar, only 60-70 MLAs are elected... In Maharashtra, we have to ally with other parties...but it is the people who decide (the win), we don't. What happens in other states doesn't happen here, why?”
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He’s ungrateful: Awhad
The Ambegaon MLA's remark drew sharp reactions from the Sharad Pawar-camp, including Anil Deshmukh, Jitendra Ahwad and Ambadas Danve. Party workers also staged a protest in Mumbai.
He was called out for betraying the octogenarian's affection of 40 years. Walse-Patil, the son of a former MLA, had worked as a personal assistant to Pawar, who groomed him to be a trusted lieutenant, minister and Assembly speaker.
Awhad said he felt sad about Walse-Patil's moral decline. “He was the most trusted man of Pawar saheb. But, he turned out to be ungrateful. The second-rung leaders who Saheb mentored have sold their loyalty for power," he added.
Walse-Patil could not even get a candidate in the neighbouring constituency elected, Awhad said. “I feel bad about Saheb who has given so much. Maharashtra will not forget and forgive,” he added.
Asking Walse-Patil to mind his language, Deshmukh said, "The people of his district will teach him a lesson.” He added that no political party was in a position to make a government on its own in the state.
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