The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, on Monday rejected reports of internal differences within the party over a meeting between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and its senior leaders in Delhi, describing the meeting as pre-planned and formal, reported the PTI.
The party’s national chief spokesperson, Umesh Patil, termed reports claiming that Sunetra Pawar and Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar were sidelined during the meeting as incorrect, baseless and misleading.
The statement comes after senior NCP leaders Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Dilip Walse Patil, Hassan Mushrif, Chhagan Bhujbal and Dhananjay Munde met Shah in Delhi on Monday.
Meeting was planned in advance, says NCP
According to the PTI, Patil said Sunetra Pawar and Parth Pawar had earlier met Amit Shah and discussed various issues concerning the party following the death of Ajit Pawar.
During that meeting, Sunetra Pawar had informed Shah that a delegation of senior party leaders would meet him and requested him to allot time for the interaction, Patil said, the news agency reported.
He added that the senior leaders were familiar with important matters from Ajit Pawar’s tenure, issues concerning Maharashtra’s interests and various party-related concerns. Monday’s meeting was held in this context, he said, the news agency reported.
According to Patil, the NCP leaders also raised issues concerning their respective constituencies during the meeting. They also held informal discussions with their counterparts from the Mahayuti alliance.
Rejecting suggestions of a rift within the party, Patil said attempts were being made to give an unnecessary political twist to a formal meeting and create a narrative of internal differences and lack of coordination.
“The NCP is an important constituent of the Mahayuti alliance and remains united under the leadership of Sunetra Pawar,” he said, as per the PTI.
NCP urges to verify facts
Patil urged the people and the media to verify facts before reporting on the party and cautioned against portraying speculation as established information.
He said formal meetings between leaders of alliance partners should not be politicised and that unverified claims should not be presented as facts, according to the PTI.
(with PTI inputs)
