New Delhi, Jan 28 (PTI) BJP and NDA leaders on Wednesday mourned the untimely death of NCP chief and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in an air crash, while opposition parties sought a probe into the tragic incident.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, senior ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, J P Nadda and Nitin Gadkari, and BJP president Nitin Nabin termed Ajit Pawar’s demise as “deeply saddening” and remembered the NCP leader as a person with a strong grassroots-level connect.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders also condoled the death of Ajit Pawar and remembered him as a seasoned politician who discharged his responsibilities towards his people with sincerity.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called for a Supreme Court-monitored probe into Ajit Pawar’s death, alleging that “all other agencies” have been “completely compromised”.
Several opposition leaders including Kharge backed the demand made by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo, who claimed that the truth would not emerge through existing mechanisms and only a probe under the supervision of the apex court would be credible.
“We trust only the Supreme Court. All other agencies have been completely compromised,” she told reporters.
Union Minister Ramdas Athawale told mediapersons that the Maharashtra government should probe the incident.
However, former Union minister and Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) supremo Sharad Pawar dismissed the conspiracy theories and urged not to politicise the accident.
“A stand was floated from Kolkata that there is some politics involved in this incident. But there is nothing like this.
“There is no politics in it. It was purely an accident. I request not to bring politics into it,” Pawar said.
The TMC chief’s demand was echoed by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
“She (Banerjee) must have made a justified demand… Earlier too, many VIPs lost their lives in a similar manner. There should be an impartial probe so it can be known what the reason for the accident was,” Yadav said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Anil Desai described Pawar’s demise as a great loss for Maharashtra and called for a thorough probe.
“There has to be an investigation because these kinds of incidents keep happening. Everybody is wondering why…,” Desai said.
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) vice president Debi Prasad Mishra said that the incident should be thoroughly investigated. PTI SKU SKU KSS KSS
Category: Breaking News
SEO Tags: #swadesi, #News, Leaders mourn Ajit Pawar’s untimely death; opposition demands probe