Pune: Former leader of opposition and Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar on Friday said BJP had deliberately brought out the Mundhwa land deal issue to push its Mahayuti partner, NCP chief Ajit Pawar, on the backfoot before the civic polls.Wadettiwar said, “Ajit Pawar-led NCP has been defamed in the Mundhwa land deal issue and it is a ploy by its own ally BJP. The issue came up just when the civic elections were announced. Using this issue, BJP is trying to weaken Ajit Pawar’s position in his party’s stronghold.”Claiming that involvement of Ajit Pawar’s son, Parth, cannot be denied in the Mundhwa land deal, Wadettiwar said, “BJP knew about the deal, but they waited for the civic polls to be announced. Now they are deliberately putting out details to push Ajit Pawar on the backfoot. Earlier, Uddhav Thackeray’s undivided Shiv Sena was BJP’s target when it was in alliance. Now in Mahayuti, Ajit Pawar’s party is BJP’s new target.”Shiv Sena (UBT)’s senior member Ambadas Danve also accused BJP of first laying a trap for Ajit Pawar and later pretending to rescue him from the Mundhwa land deal controversy. Ajit Pawar’s NCP hit out at the MVA members, stating that the opposition was making baseless allegations against Mahayuti. The state govt has set up a committee under additional chief secretary Vikas Kharage to probe the Mundhwa land deal involving Amadea Enterprises LLP, in which Ajit Pawar’s elder son Parth has a 99% share. The deal was exposed just before the local body polls.
