Sharad Pawar Breaks Silence On Grandnephew's Land Deal Amid Row

Two days after the Pune land-grab allegations involving his grandnephew set off a political storm, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar broke his silence, saying the matter should be investigated fully and the results of the inquiry should be made public. 

"The Chief Minister has publicly said that the matter is serious. So he must conduct an inquiry and place the facts before the people," Pawar said on Saturday. 

Pawar, whose nephew and current Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar split the NCP and joined the Eknath Shinde-led government in 2023, also clarified the position of the Pawar family amid the controversy, stating that they hold different ideological positions but remain one as a family. Pawar pointed out that his grandson contested against Ajit Pawar and Ajit Pawar's wife contested against his daughter Supriya Sule, highlighting that political battles do not affect personal relationships within the family.

Ajit Pawar's son, Parth, has been accused of involvement in a land scam. The allegation is that Amadea Enterprises LLP, in which Parth is a partner, was sold 43 acres of government land in Pune worth over Rs 1,800 crore for just Rs 300 crore. 

The land allegedly fell under the 'Watan' category awarded to the Mahar community and, under the Bombay Inferior Village Watans Abolition Act, 1958, it could not be sold without government permission. A stamp duty waiver was also reportedly ordered two days after the deal, with Parth Pawar's firm paying just Rs 500 as stamp duty on the Rs 300 crore transaction.

On Sule's earlier defence of Parth, Sharad Pawar distanced himself, saying that was her personal opinion. Asked whether he felt Ajit Pawar was being targeted within the ruling Mahayuti, he said he did not know.

Not Named In Case

Two cases have been filed in connection with the land deal, but Parth Pawar has not been named, triggering criticism from the Opposition.

Ambadas Danve from the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and Congress leaders Vijay Wadettiwar and Harshwardan Sapkal have questioned why Pawar's name is absent.

Sharad Pawar's other grandnephew, Rohit Pawar, who has been one of the sharpest critics of the government over the past year, on issues ranging from Minister Manikrao Kokate playing rummy in the Assembly to alleged PWD irregularities, has so far remained silent. His silence has been noted by the ruling side, with minister Sanjay Shirsat taunting him on X, asking why the "dear parrot" had gone silent, referring to Rohit's previous aggressive stance on corruption.

The case also entered the national discourse when Rahul Gandhi called it "land theft" and linked it to "vote theft," marking one of his first direct attacks on the Pawar family.

Ajit Pawar's Take

Ajit Pawar met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday and said Parth did not know it was government land. 

"The concerned land is government land, which cannot be sold. Parth and his partner Digvijay Patil were not aware of this fact. How the registration (of its sale) was done and who is responsible will come out in the probe," Pawar said.

The case named three people, including Patil, but not Parth, because those three people had gone to the registrar's office to sign the documents, the deputy chief minister said. 

"Neither I nor my office made any phone calls, gave any help, or had any role or knowledge about this transaction at any stage... this was only an agreement to buy land, and no payment was made by Parth, his company Amadea, or by any member of my family to the seller, and the possession of the land has not been taken. Therefore, the transaction has not been completed," he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.