Ajit Pawar became emotional at the press conference held in Mumbai today.
Highlights
- Ajit Pawar rejected reports of rising discord in the family
- Many claims have come up in the case, none make sense, he said
- Sharad Pawar is not even remotely associated, he added
A day after resigning as a member of the Maharashtra assembly, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar on Saturday denied claims of his involvement in an alleged banking scam and expressed regret over his uncle -- party chief Sharad Pawar -- being dragged into the controversy.
In an emotional address to reporters at a press conference in Mumbai, the politician rejected reports that his unexpected resignation was a sign of rising discord in the Pawar family. "I put in my papers before the speaker's personal assistant at the state assembly yesterday because I felt responsible for Sharad Pawar's name turning up in the matter. I apologise for taking such a decision without telling anybody," he said at a press conference held in Mumbai.
The Enforcement Directorate has filed a money-laundering case against Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar and 70 others in connection with an alleged Rs 25,000-crore Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank scam. Ajit Pawar, however, flatly denied the allegations.
"Many contrasting claims have cropped up in the case, and none of them make sense. It was first said in the state assembly that a sum of Rs 1,088 crore was swindled from the bank, but later, a public interest litigation filed in court pegged the amount at Rs 25,000 crore. But the bank only has deposits to the tune of Rs 11,000 crore. How can such a bank even be swindled of Rs 25,000 crore?" he asked, pointing out that the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank has actually made a profit of Rs 125 crore this time.
The NCP leader claimed that his biggest regret was over the party chief being "falsely implicated" in the alleged scam. "Sharad Pawar is not even remotely associated with the bank or its transactions, and yet, the day before yesterday, I found his name doing the rounds in connection with the case. Whatever I have achieved until now is because of Sharad Pawar, and I cannot bear to see him face such allegations at this age," he told reporters.
According to the politician, this wasn't the first time that "baseless allegations" were levelled against him by the powers-that-be. "Earlier, they had accused me of pulling off a Rs 70,000-crore scam. Now, with the elections just round the corner, they say I am involved in a Rs 25,000-crore scam," he said.
Ajit Pawar had met the NCP chief along with other relatives at the latter's home on Saturday. Shortly afterwards, Sharad Pawar told reporters that all was well in the family.
(With inputs from PTI)