Mumbai: Maharashtra Cooperation Minister Dilip Walse-Patil, a former close aide of Sharad Pawar, on Monday apologised for his remarks that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president “could not single-handedly bring the party to power in Maharashtra”, and clarified that “his words were misconstrued”.
"I never spoke ill about Sharad Pawar": Patil
“I feel that the media has gotten it wrong. I never spoke ill about Sharad Pawar… I was expressing regret that while other regional parties achieved power on their own, the people of Maharashtra did not give that to Sharad Pawar. There is no question of demeaning Pawar saheb or questioning his ability,” said Walse-Patil on Monday after being strongly criticised for his comment.
Walse-Patil also said that he will always respect Sharad Pawar, who will remain his leader even in the future.
Protest against Patil
The NCP workers loyal to Sharad Pawar staged demonstrations against Walse-Patil and even burnt his effigy in Mumbai.
While addressing party workers at Manchar in his Assembly constituency Ambegaon in Pune, Walse-Patil had said on Sunday, “People of Maharashtra never gave him (Sharad Pawar) power on his own or allowed him to single-handedly form the government. There is Mamata Banerjee, there is Mayawati. There are many regional parties which are going forward, and despite having a tall leader, they are only getting 60-70 seats in the Assembly. And hence, we took the decision to form an alliance.”
