more-in Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar said on Monday that the party’s leaders have decided to maintain a ‘safe distance’ from the Bharatiya Janata Party and take on the State government for its administrative lapses. The former deputy chief minister said that the party workers were confused as its leaders shared stage with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on the one hand and criticised the State government on the other. Mr. Pawar said, “Sharing space with BJP leaders is not a crime. Attending personal functions of leaders of rival parties should not be viewed as a political move. It just shows the State’s politicians are mature enough to rise above party politics.” Mr. Pawar added that such interactions, however, sent out the wrong message to the party cadre and so “we will be taking care to keep a safe distance from the government and to attack its lapses on every front.” In the recent past, NCP leaders have shared space with Mr. Fadnavis on various occasions giving rise to political speculation. The Chief Minister was the chief guest at a function held on October 23 in Amravati to felicitate NCP chief Sharad Pawar on completing 50 years as a parliamentarian. Mr. Fadnavis had said on the occasion that “generous opposition is better than a selfish friend”. On October 27, Mr. Fadnavis attended the 61st birthday celebrations of senior NCP leader and former Speaker of the State Assembly Dilip Walse-Patil. The Chief Minister was invited to be the chief guest at a programme hosted by NCP State chief Sunil Tatkare, but informed that he couldn’t attend the event at the last minute. Social activist Anjali Damania had questioned Mr. Fadnavis’s decision to attend the event as Mr. Tatkare is facing charges of alleged financial irregularities and violation of norms in the Kondane irrigation project in Raigad. In September this year, the Anti-corruption Bureau mentioned Mr. Tatkare’s name in the charge sheet filed in the multi-crore irrigation scam. On Monday, NCP MP Supriya Sule received an award for social work from Mr. Fadnavis at a private event. Meanwhile, the NCP is on the warpath against the government’s policies and has decided to organise a ‘Halla Bol’ agitation from November 25 in every tehsil of the State. The rally aims to highlight the State’s failure in implementing the loan waiver scheme, generating employment opportunities, reining in inflation, and the adverse effects of GST and demonetisation. The party has also announced that its top leadership will be taking out a 10-day padyatra next month. The padyatra will begin in Yavatmal in Vidarbha on December 1 and end in Nagpur on December 10. The winter session of the State Assembly is set to begin in Nagpur on December 11.

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