Pune: The national office-bearers of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Saturday had to issue a clarification that there was no bar on the entry of any party members to its Delhi office, after a controversy on the issue strained the party's 'all is well' claim.
Clarification on Entry Restrictions
NCP general secretary Avinash Adik clarified that the party had taken no such decision regarding entry restrictions. He told reporters on Saturday that he visited the party's Delhi office on Friday and spoke to some party functionaries, but stressed that no restriction was imposed on anybody's entry.
The clarification came after a senior party functionary claimed that some senior members had told Delhi office staffers that entry of members not included in the national office-bearers' list was restricted. Notably, the names of NCP's national working president Praful Patel and state party chief Sunil Tatkare were missing from the list of office-bearers submitted to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Adik's Statement
Speaking on the issue, Adik said, 'Patel and Tatkare are the seniormost members of our party. Somebody is deliberately spreading false information about them. I want to make it clear that they are part of the working committee and the party has not banned anybody's entry to the Delhi office.'
Response to Omission from EC List
Reacting to the omission of Patel and Tatkare from the list of NCP national office-bearers, party spokesperson Umesh Patil said, 'The list submitted to the ECI was a temporary one and it was created for some legal purposes. There will be some changes in the list, and the national working committee will soon hold a meeting to take a decision on the issue.'
Claims and counter-claims within NCP indicated that differences were growing in different sections of the party and were now coming out in the open.
Tatkare's Remarks
Tatkare, while interacting with reporters on Friday, said, 'Some issues come up while running a party. Senior members of our party will sit together and resolve them to ensure that NCP is strengthened further.'
NCP's Stance on Rohit Pawar
In a related development, NCP on Saturday said the party would not allow NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar to use Ajit Pawar's name for his political benefit. NCP spokesperson Umesh Patil told reporters, 'Even if we have utmost respect for Sharad Pawar, we stopped using his photo in our party's events after NCP (SP) told us not to use his photo or name. Similarly, we will not permit Rohit to use Ajit Pawar's name for his political gain.'
Rohit has been accusing NCP seniors of not pursuing the case of Ajit Pawar's death in a plane crash. Responding to his criticism, Patil said, 'When Ajit Pawar was alive, Rohit was the one who troubled him the most. Now, after Ajit Dada's death, he is trying to politicise the plane crash with an eye on the Baramati seat for the 2029 elections.'
