Some NCP leaders joined BJP due to ED probe, claims Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Sunday claimed that his nephew Ajit Pawar and others, who have formed a government with BJP in the state, had done so "to avoid going to prison" as they had Enforcement Directorate (ED) probes against them.

"For some reason or other, they were being probed by the ED... They were told, 'we will not proceed with the cases, if you join us but if you don't, then you will be somewhere else'. They were told to change sides and looking at the situation, they changed their stand," Sharad Pawar said at an event in Pune.

"Our few colleagues have changed their path and today they have gone and sat with the BJP. While talking, they keep saying that they are still in the NCP and have not changed their ideological position but I read in the papers about them (Ajit MLAs) saying that they did not have to go inside (read: prison) and hence to avoid (going to prison) they have taken such a decision," he said.


Pawar Sr accused the BJP-ruled Centre of threatening its political rivals but also called Ajit Pawar and the MLAs with him cowards. "In politics or in society, if someone leaves the path of truth, then today or tomorrow such cowards would be shown their place by the people. They would be in trouble." The NCP chief complimented NCP leaders like Anil Deshmukh and Uddhav group MP Sanjay Raut for not joining hands with the BJP in spite of being put in jail. Pawar also asked the people of the state to send a 'stern' message to the Centre for taking away industries that were to be set up in the state, but went to Gujarat.