Gautam Adani's Presence In BJP-NCP Meet Sparks Political Furore In Maharashtra, Rahul Gandhi Chips In

A day after sparking a political storm with his claim that industrialist Gautam Adani attended a meeting between NCP and BJP leaders in 2019 to discuss government formation, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar clarified on Wednesday that his remarks had been misinterpreted.

"There appears to be a misunderstanding. He (Gautam Adani) is not at all connected to the incident. I even said in the morning that facts are being misrepresented. He has nothing to do with politics," Pawar told reporters in Beed.

"Everyone knows where the meeting happened... All were present. Let me reiterate. Amit Shah was there, Gautam Adani was there, Praful Patel was there, Devendra Fadnavis was there, Ajit Pawar was there, Pawar Saheb (Sharad Pawar) was there," Pawar initially told The News Minute in an interview.

Ajit had also stated that his decision to ally with the BJP in 2019-taking the oath as Deputy CM before resigning within 80 hours-had the endorsement of Sharad Pawar.

Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar acknowledged meeting both the industrialist and Union Home Minister Amit Shah but denied any such discussions.

"Had such a thing occurred, you would have seen a BJP-NCP government in place," he said in an interview with a Marathi news channel, adding that his nephew's claims lacked truth.

Sharad Pawar further explained that he met with some Union ministers and industrialists after the 2019 election, accompanied by Ajit Pawar, but not to discuss government formation.

"Ajit Pawar joined me on some of these occasions. The purpose was for him to get acquainted with them," he stated.

Sharad Pawar added he had met Shah "three to four times," but these meetings were centred around issues pertinent to Maharashtra and the agriculture sector.

"It's crucial to maintain good communication with those in decision-making positions. However, just because I maintain dialogue with them does not imply any conspiracy was underway," he clarified.

Commenting on his visit to Adani's residence, Pawar explained, "I have also visited the residences of Ratan Tata, the Kirloskars, and other industrialists. I still visit them." He noted that Adani has made significant investments in Maharashtra and is planning further projects.

"When I was Chief Minister, he introduced some power generation projects in Gondia-Bhandara, which I inaugurated. The central government also awarded him contracts for coal mines. I attended an event for the Gondia project. At that time, the BJP was not in power," Sharad Pawar remarked, stressing the importance of good relations with investors in Maharashtra.

Following Ajit Pawar's comments, Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) criticised the BJP and ruling Mahayuti, accusing it of scheming to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

"According to Ajit Pawar, industrialists brought down our government. Gautam Adani, Amit Shah, and Devendra Fadnavis held frequent meetings. Were these meetings aimed at toppling the government? Ask Ajit Dada if it was Sharad Pawar or Adani who split the party," Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut stated.

"When you think nothing more can be shocking about this nexus between Modi & Adani, a new example of audacity emerges. How can a businessman be permitted to be part of negotiations to unseat governments?" Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera questioned.

Rahul Gandhi attacks Adani, BJP, Modi

At a rally in Nanded, Lok Sabha opposition leader Rahul Gandhi claimed that Gautam Adani was involved in the fall of the MVA government to secure the Dharavi redevelopment project, reported the Times of India.

"Your government was stolen and snatched. Do you think Narendra Modi wasn't involved? Why was Adani present at a political meeting? He attended because he wanted Dharavi," Rahul told the audience, referencing Ajit Pawar's remarks about the 2019 meeting between the undivided NCP and BJP.

In another rally in tribal-majority Nandurbar, Rahul criticised the PM's remarks on his red, blank Constitution copy in rallies. "The PM has criticised me for flaunting a blank, red-coloured copy of the Constitution. He claims the book lacks content. I want to tell him that the colour of the book doesn't matter. Our PM assumes it's blank because he's never read the Indian Constitution," Rahul asserted.