LEADER OF Opposition and Baramati MLA Ajit Pawar on Friday accused the government of discriminating against opposition MLAs in allocation of funds.
He made this complaint at the annual meeting of Pune District Planning and Development Committee (PDCC) meeting chaired by Guardian Minister Chandrakant Patil which saw attendance of three MPs and 21 MLAs from the district as well as, rather surprisingly, NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
Ajit Pawar said that of the 21 MLAs in the district, 13 MLAs belong to the opposition parties and that they have noticed that injustice was being done to them while distributing funds.
“Every MLA represents 4-5 lakh citizens and they are working for people. We requested Chandrakant Dada that there should be no discrimination in fund distribution,” said Pawar.
He said he had met a few government contractors who complained that the bills of completed work were not being released, including those that were done in the previous financial year.
“After meeting the contractors, I obtained some information from my sources in the government. I was told that bills worth Rs 1.05 lakh crore are pending for payment. The local officials have also been told that they should not pay any pending bill without getting a nod from the above. I have requested Chandrakant Patil to take information about this from CM and DCM. Why is this happening? Is the health of Maharashtra treasury bad?,” he asked.
Ajit Pawar also said that after the Trimbakeshwar temple row broke out a few days ago and the government ordered an inquiry, he spoke to the local public representative who explained the issue to him.
“It’s an old tradition. Some people deliberately used social media to give it a communal colour. This is happening increasingly in order to divide the society on communal lines. Some people in the government, and party spokespersons are also giving such statements that will stoke division. This is unfortunate but I am confident that people of Maharashtra won’t let such people succeed,” he said.
On the FIR against Sameer Wankhede, Ajit Pawar said, “Two years ago, when the case was in focus, NCP’s chief spokesperson Nawab Malik had made some revelations about NCB officer Sameer Wankhede (who was heading the probe involving Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan). At that time people in the BJP were defending Wankhede in the media. All the things that Nawab Bhai was saying have now come true and people who were defending Wankhede are nowhere to be seen.”
The NCP leader also said that the espionage case of DRDO scientist Pradeep Kurulkar should be conducted in a fast-track court. “He has done seditious work. All the evidence is out to see. Who is he linked to, the people and the media should probe…because of him some vital information went to Pakistan. He should be booked for sedition. There should be a speedy probe and a fast-track court should hear this case. A message should be sent out that if
someone works against national security he won’t be spared,” he said.
