If merger talks were on, Ajitdada would have told us: CM Fadnavis

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis (PTI photo)

MUMBAI: CM Devendra Fadnavis Sunday said they had no idea about the discussions of a merger of the two NCPs nor about the date of merger.“If discussions on merger had gone to a final stage, Ajitdada would have informed us… He is in our govt and without sharing with us would he have taken a decision? I have no idea on what talks took place between him and Sharad Pawar. As far as we are concerned, we have no idea about the merger,” he said.The CM’s statement came a day after NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar claimed that Feb 12 had been finalised to announce a merger between the two NCP factions.Speaking to the media, Fadnavis said: “If Ajit Pawar was holding discussions on the merger, would he have done so without taking BJP into confidence? Second, supposing he was holding such discussions, was he doing it to get out of NDA when he was stable in the govt. Some like to create confusion and then use one’s ecosystem to amplify confusion…You

all know that the relationship between Ajitdada and me was such that he shared everything with me. Even a day before his unfortunate death, we both sat together chit chatting for an hour…”Rejecting the charge that Sunetra Pawar’s swearing-in ceremony was rushed, Fadanvis pointed out that when PM Indira Gandhi was assassinated, Congress took a decision to nominate Rajiv Gandhi to the PM’s post even before her last rites were performed. Pawar Sr initiates Ajit memorial project A grand memorial for Maharashtra’s late deputy CM Ajit Pawar is being planned in his hometown Baramati, with his uncle Sharad Pawar taking the initiative. The memorial is proposed to be built on the campus of Vidya Pratishthan, where Ajit was cremated on Jan 28. On Sunday, Sharad Pawar, along with his wife, Pratibha, visited the campus and held a brief discussion with some trustees of the pratishthan about the memorial for his late nephew. Kiran Gujar, a member of Vidya Pratishthan, told TOI: “Pawar Saheb was heading to Mumbai. On the way, he and his wife called us to the campus where he discussed the memorial for Ajit dada. He told us to start working on the plan, which he would discuss with us again once the mourning period is over.” Vidya Pratishthan, an educational trust, is managed by Pawars, with Sharad Pawar as president and Ajit among the trustees.