25 December,2020 02:05 PM IST | Mumbai | Dharmendra Jore
Sachin Sawant
Aggrieved over several intra-government issues, the Congress lambasted the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Thursday for poaching 18 of its corporators from Bhiwandi-Nizampur. The grand-old party said that the NCP set an unfortunate precedent by admitting the rebels of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance partner.
Ajit Pawar. File pics
"State Congress president (Balasaheb Thorat) has expressed the party's displeasure to the NCP leadership," said Congress spokesperson and general secretary Sachin Sawant. The corporators joined the NCP on Wednesday in the presence of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, state NCP chief Jayant Patil and housing minister Jitendra Awhad. The defectors include deputy mayor Imran Ali Mohammed Khan.
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Sawant told mid-day that the turncoats had rebelled against the Congress in the mayoral polls. Even with 47 seats in the 90-member corporation, the Congress couldn't elect its mayor because of the rebels. A local outfit got the mayor's post while the Congress rebels got the deputy mayor's office.
"The Congress had initiated disciplinary action against the rebels and also petitioned the authorities for their disqualification under the anti-defection law. The hearing is pending before the divisional commissioner. The rebels are still technically a part of the Congress. The party is pursuing the case," added Sawant.
"However, the alliance partner has set an unfortunate precedent by inducting the rebels who disregarded the Congress ideology, policy and instructions," he said.
A similar instance involving the NCP had upset the Shiv Sena early this year when the latter's municipal councillors in Parner (Ahmednagar) were admitted by Ajit Pawar. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had forced the NCP to return the elected members to his party's fold.
However, sources in the Congress said that the Bhiwandi case might not escalate further because many in the MVA felt that the rebels preferring the NCP instead of the BJP was a better decision. The NCP doesn't have a single corporator in Bhiwandi-Nizampur, which goes to polls in early 2022.
18
No. of Cong rebels who have been admitted to the NCP
