"I Am Not A Toy": Chhagan Bhujbal Slams Ajit Pawar Over Cabinet Expansion
Nasik, Maharashtra: Disgruntled over his exclusion in the recent Maharashtra cabinet expansion, senior NCP legislator and Samata Parishad founder, Chhagan Bhujbal on Tuesday, attacked party chief and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar for not including him into the Cabinet even though Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was in favour of his inclusion.
Bhujbal, who is displeased over not receiving ministerial position skipped the Winter Session of the Maharashtra Assembly and reached his hometown Nasik on Tuesday. He told the reporters that he did not get a Cabinet berth for taking on Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil and for standing up for the OBC community.
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“Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel had said that they will discuss with me about giving me a ministerial berth. But they did not sit down for a discussion. No one from Ajit Pawar or Praful Patel’s office called me. I am not a toy in their hands. . . . Chhagan Bhujbal is not that kind of a person who if told to sit down will sit down and if told to stand up, will stand up,” NDTV quotes, as Bhujbal is saying.
Bhujbal then said that he will take decision on the next step by discussing with all the workers in the State. He further added that he is trying to find out who rejected him for the ministerial post.
“The decision for every party is taken by the party chief. Just like Devendra Fadnavis takes the decision for the BJP, Eknath Shinde takes the decision for the Shiv Sena. Similarly, Ajit Pawar takes the decision for our group,” Bhujbal said hinting that Ajit Pawar dropped his name.
The OBC Strongman stated that the issue is not about the ministerial berth, the way he has been disregarded by the party. “He (Ajit Pawar) told me to contest in the Lok Sabha. Union Minister Amit Shah also said that. I completed all the preparation but they did not declare my name for over a month so I opted out. Then before the Assembly polls, when I wanted to go to Rajya Sabha, I was told I should contest the Assembly elections,” Indian Express quotes as he is saying.
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Continuing further, Bhujbal said that he would like to got to Upper House after a year or two, but not now, it would be a betrayal to his voters. “I was offered Rajya Sabha eight days ago, which I rejected. How can I accept the Rajya Sabha after being elected as an MLA? How can I resign? It would be a betrayal to my voters now. I would like to go to Rajya Sabha after a year or two, but not now,” Bhujbal said.
In the recent assembly elections, Bhujbal retained the Yeola seat by defeating NCP (SP) candidate Manikrao Shinde with a margin of 26,400 votes. The Yeola assembly segment is considered as Bhujbal’s home turf and he has been representing the constituency since 2004. However, this time, he posed a tough challenge through the candidacy of his former friend Shinde and stiff opposition from Marathas due to his aggressive stance against their reservation demand.
