Don't Politicise Ajit Pawar's Death: Sunetra Pawar After Supriya Sule's Jibe

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar said today that the death of her husband Ajit Pawar should not be politicised. "Who can better understand the depth of the void created across Maharashtra by Ajit Dada's passing than his children and me? Therefore, do not politicise the tragedy involving Ajit Dada," Sunetra Pawar said while speaking to the media.

Her comments come a day after NCP (SP) leader and Ajit Pawar's cousin Supriya Sule accused his faction of the party of "enjoying power" following the tragedy. Sunetra Pawar had stepped into her husband's shoes in the government and the party following his death.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Supriya Sule had questioned why no FIR has been registered regarding Ajit Pawar's death.

Ajit Pawar, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, had died in the plane crash on January 28 near the Baramati airport.

Sunetra Pawar said, "Everyone desires a concrete decision following the tragedy and efforts are being made in that direction".

"We have met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Everyone is aware of this. The Chief Minister (Devendra Fadnavis) has given his word in the Legislative Assembly and is making every effort to fulfill that promise," she said.

Investigative agencies, she said,  are doing their job and that she has full faith in the agencies, the law, and the Constitution.

"Therefore, we should give them adequate time," she said.

Appearing in the media repeatedly should not be equated with providing updates on the investigation, she said. "There is a doubt whether a media trial is being conducted repeatedly," Sunetra Pawar said. "Everyone should think about who could be more hurt by this than Ajit Dada's mother, his children and me," she added.

"We lost a prominent member of our family. The NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) is part of the current government... have any of their 40 MLAs or 8 to 9 ministers uttered a single word demanding an FIR or a proper investigation into my brother's death? Our brother is gone, and they are enjoying power," Sule had said.

Earlier, Rohit Pawar, NCP(SP) MLA and Sharad Pawar's grandson, had alleged that Ajit Pawar's death was the result of a conspiracy and called for the resignation of Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu.

Ajit Pawar's son Jay Pawar had also questioned the plane crash and Sunetra Pawar had demanded a CBI inquiry.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said the Central agency cannot get involved before the Aircraft Accident Investigation Burea (AAIB) report was made available. "The CBI requires the final AAIB report before it can officially initiate its probe," he had said.

A parallel investigation was being conducted by the state's Crime Investigation Department. 

The preliminary report by the AAIB had flagged poor visibility below prescribed limits and safety gaps at the uncontrolled airfield. 

The visibility at the time of landing was reported as 3 kilometres -- well below the 5-kilometre minimum required for Visual Flight Rules operations.

The Learjet 45XR carrying Ajit Pawar -- operated by VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd -- had crashed while attempting to land on Runway 11. All five persons on board had died.