- By Mayukh Debnath
- Fri, 15 Nov 2024 09:42 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Maharashtra Polls: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday refuted claims that a meeting was held at billionaire Gautam Adani's residence in 2019 to discuss the possible formation of a BJP-NCP government in Maharashtra in the aftermath of an Assembly election that left the state with a hung legislature.
"Adani has not attended any of our meetings in the past," the seniorc BJP leader was quoted as saying by India Today. The clarification followed veteran politician Sharad Pawar's claim that Adani hosted a meeting in Delhi in 2019.
In interviews to two media outlets, Sharad Pawar had claimed that the meeting was part of deliberations on the possibility of NCP, then a single party, seeking BJP's support to form the government in Maharashtra.
Sharad Pawar had claimed that he himself was present at the purported meeting, together with his now-estranged nephew Ajit Pawar and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The NCP-SP supremo made the allegation after Ajit Pawar -- now a BJP ally -- himself claimed that top BJP leaders, including Fadnavis and Shah, attended the supposed meeting alongside him, Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel.
However, Ajit Pawar, took a u-turn on Friday and said he had made the claim "by mistake". "I said about that, sometimes we are so busy with our work, that, by mistake, I will say something...... it must have happened by mistake.," he told news agency ANI.
The Deputy CM added, "He (Gautam Adani) was not there. They were not there. meeting is held in different areas. Like we are sitting here. Some are in Devgiri, some are in Sagar, some are in Varsha, some are in different hotels, some are in other places, in guest houses."
Ajit Pawar further said, "We were sitting in Gautam Adani's guest house. To form a government of a state, an industrialist has no role. He was not there." When asked if was he pressurised to give such a statement, he stated, "I don't listen to anyone's pressure."
The supposed meeting took place allegedly before the formation of a fragile government with Fadnavis as the CM and Ajit Pawar as the Deputy CM. The government lasted just about three-and-a-half days. Its collapse paved the way for an eventual 11-day presidential rule in Maharashtra.
(With inputs from agencies)
