PUNE: Hours after NCP leader Supriya Sule said that she was concerned about deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis being devalued, he responded by saying that the political scenario in the state would have been different now if her father and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar had shown the same concern then (in 2019).
Sule, who was in Pune on Sunday, said, “In this government, chief minister Eknath Shinde and the other deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar seem to have occupied all the space and Fadnavis is now hardly visible anywhere.”
She added, “In the five years of his earlier stint as chief minister, Fadnavis was seen every day.But today, I feel pity that his importance has been reduced in this government. From chief minister, he was first demoted to deputy chief minister and now he has remained only half deputy chief minister which is an injustice to him.”
In his reply, Fadnavis, who was also in Pune on Sunday, said, “If Sharad Pawar had shown even 10% concern compared to what Sule is showing now, things would have been different today.”His response refers to the 2019 episode where NCP had entered into talks with BJP for government formation after the assembly elections. However, according to BJP, Sharad Pawar backed out at the last moment.