Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar (R) interacts with home minister RR Patil during the NCP state executive meeting in South Mumbai. (PTI Photo)
MUMBAI: The political mercury soared on Tuesday with deputy chief minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar accusing Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray of provoking the Marathi manoos in the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji. Ajit is the nephew of Maratha strongman and NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
Political pundits attributed Ajit's outburst to the Sena's latest alliance with the Republican Party of India (Athavale).
Addressing a public meeting in Shirdi, Ajit said Thackeray keeps invoking the Chhatrapati Shivaji's legacy from time to time for narrow political gains. "What has Balasaheb done all these years? Did he set up a decent school or a college? Did he start a milk co-operative society for the benefit of farmers? Ensconced in the safety of his Mumbai apartment, he keeps roaring Jai Shivaji, Jai Bhavani to provoke Marathis."
The Sena was quick to retaliate. Party MP Sanjay Raut said, "Ajit suggests that Balasaheb hasn't done any concrete work for his followers. For the Congress-NCP leaders, concrete work means monumental scandals such as Adarsh, CWG and the 2-G spectrum scandal. If one goes by the Congress-NCP's yardstick, then Balasaheb hasn't done concrete work."
Sena MLC Neelam Gorhe said, "Before pointing an accusing finger at Balasaheb, Ajit should examine his track record. He and his close aides are involved in a slew of scandals, the latest being the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank fraud.''
At the centre of the Thackeray-Ajit spat is the Dalit vote-bank which, the state NCP fears, the Sena is keen to appropriate from Pawar in the run-up to the 2012 BMC elections.
Athavale has been a close Pawar lieutenant since 1990 when the latter inducted the 30-something firebrand Dalit leader in the undivided Congress government as minister. Since then, the RPI-A has been two-timing the Congress and the NCP, helping the two parties consolidate their pro-Dalit image.
However, his defeat in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections prompted Athavale to look for new political allies. Thackeray was quick to rope in the RPI-A in the saffron alliance in an attempt to woo the Dalit voters for the upcoming civic polls. The Sena-BJP-RPI(A) has planned a morcha in Mumbai on June 9 against the Congress-NCP's "misrule".
"This has deeply upset the NCP which thinks that it has sole proprietorial rights over the RPI-A. Which is why Ajit has launched a vicious attack on Balasaheb," said Gorhe.
By pointing out that Thackeray has failed to set up cooperative banks or milk and agricultural societies, Ajit is reminding the Dalits that it is the NCP alone which has under its belt centres of prosperity across Maharashtra, said political observers.
Political pundits attributed Ajit's outburst to the Sena's latest alliance with the Republican Party of India (Athavale).
Addressing a public meeting in Shirdi, Ajit said Thackeray keeps invoking the Chhatrapati Shivaji's legacy from time to time for narrow political gains. "What has Balasaheb done all these years? Did he set up a decent school or a college? Did he start a milk co-operative society for the benefit of farmers? Ensconced in the safety of his Mumbai apartment, he keeps roaring Jai Shivaji, Jai Bhavani to provoke Marathis."
The Sena was quick to retaliate. Party MP Sanjay Raut said, "Ajit suggests that Balasaheb hasn't done any concrete work for his followers. For the Congress-NCP leaders, concrete work means monumental scandals such as Adarsh, CWG and the 2-G spectrum scandal. If one goes by the Congress-NCP's yardstick, then Balasaheb hasn't done concrete work."
Sena MLC Neelam Gorhe said, "Before pointing an accusing finger at Balasaheb, Ajit should examine his track record. He and his close aides are involved in a slew of scandals, the latest being the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank fraud.''
At the centre of the Thackeray-Ajit spat is the Dalit vote-bank which, the state NCP fears, the Sena is keen to appropriate from Pawar in the run-up to the 2012 BMC elections.
Athavale has been a close Pawar lieutenant since 1990 when the latter inducted the 30-something firebrand Dalit leader in the undivided Congress government as minister. Since then, the RPI-A has been two-timing the Congress and the NCP, helping the two parties consolidate their pro-Dalit image.
However, his defeat in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections prompted Athavale to look for new political allies. Thackeray was quick to rope in the RPI-A in the saffron alliance in an attempt to woo the Dalit voters for the upcoming civic polls. The Sena-BJP-RPI(A) has planned a morcha in Mumbai on June 9 against the Congress-NCP's "misrule".
"This has deeply upset the NCP which thinks that it has sole proprietorial rights over the RPI-A. Which is why Ajit has launched a vicious attack on Balasaheb," said Gorhe.
By pointing out that Thackeray has failed to set up cooperative banks or milk and agricultural societies, Ajit is reminding the Dalits that it is the NCP alone which has under its belt centres of prosperity across Maharashtra, said political observers.
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