Ajit Pawar reacts to five Shiv Sena councillors joining NCP

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday announced Rs 8 crore funds for SARTHI, a non-profit government company in Maharashtra.

Addressing the media after the meeting Pawar was asked if Thackeray was upset with him after five Shiv Sena councillors joined NCP in his presence in Baramati last Saturday, Pawar replied in the negative and added that only the news channels suggested so.

The councillors, who had joined the NCP with the help of the Sharad Pawar-led party''s Parner MLA Nilesh Lanke, returned to Shiv Sena on Wednesday.

Media reports had claimed that Thackeray, also Shiv Sena president, was upset over the councillors joining the NCP, an ally of the saffron party in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state.

"I was in Baramati (last Saturday)...Lanke came there...He said some independent councillors wanted to join the party. So, they joined in my presence. But later I learnt that they were Shiv Sena councillors," Pawar said.

The deputy chief minister said that when he inquired about it with Lanke, the legislator told him that the councillors were set to join the BJP in case the NCP did not induct them into its fold.

"There is the MVA government of three parties. All three parties should not poach one another's workers and leaders. Hence, I called Lanke and told him to end this episode and let the councillors rejoin the Shiv Sena as the Shiv Sena chief is ready to solve their problems," Pawar added.