Mumbai, Jul 14 (PTI) Senior Nationalist Congress Party leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare on Tuesday dismissed the notice issued by national secretary Sachchidanand questioning the election of Sunetra Pawar as president, and denied that there was any rift in the party.
In a bizarre development, Sachchidanand claimed in a notice issued through a Delhi-based law firm on July 9 that the election held on February 26 was unconstitutional and liable to be declared null and void.
Reacting to the notice, Patel told PTI: “There is no rift in the party. All senior party leaders meet with Sunetra Pawar to discuss political issues. The letter written by Sachchidanand carries no weight. Any issue should be resolved amicably in the interest of the party.” NCP Maharashtra president Sunil Tatkare termed the notice as “illegal” and said the party would examine its legal validity.
The meeting of the national executive to elect the president and working president had been held strictly in accordance with the party constitution, he told reporters.
“The election was completely valid,” Tatkare said, adding that the party’s core committee would meet shortly, seek legal advice on the notice and then decide its response.
On whether the party was in touch with Sachchidanand or considering disciplinary action against him, Tatkare said he had not spoken to him and was unaware if anyone at the Delhi level had done so.
“We will first examine the legal validity of the notice. In my view, there is absolutely no substance in it. The entire process followed by the party was in accordance with its constitution and rules,” he said.
The core committee would decide whether Sachchidanand’s letter amounted to indiscipline, Tatkare added.
When asked about internal documents of the party repeatedly surfacing in the public domain, and whether some people within the party were trying to create divisions, he said, “Today, the party is united under the leadership of Sunetra Pawar. It is working across the state and the country in an organised manner.
“Just because one person writes a letter, it does not mean there is discontent in the party. Ours is a democratic organisation where individuals can express their views, but the party moves forward according to its collective decisions,” he said.
Asked why the notice appeared to target only Sunetra Pawar’s election, Tatkare said the notice had also been issued to Praful Patel and declined to speculate on the motives behind raising questions about specific leaders.
Sachchidanand’s notice stated that after the demise of then NCP president Ajit Pawar in an air crash on January 28, the party had informed the Election Commission that Praful Patel would function as acting national president until a new chief was elected.
But general secretary Brijmohan Shrivastav convened the national convention and set the election process in motion despite lacking the constitutional authority to do so, it alleged.
“No duly constituted central election authority, returning officer or election calendar was put in place as required under the party constitution. Delegates were denied an opportunity to nominate candidates, contest or vote,” the notice claimed.
Sachchidanand also demanded withdrawal of the letters sent to the Election Commission on February 28, March 10 and April 29 apprising the EC of the election and office-bearers, and sought a fresh organisational election under an independent election authority.
Notably, when the party submitted a revised list of national office-bearers and executive committee members to the Election Commission, the names of Praful Patel and Tatkare were reportedly either omitted or shown without their official designations, which the party later attributed to typographical error.
Meanwhile, to the question whether the party will seek the finance portfolio earlier held by late Ajit Pawar in the BJP-led Maharashtra government, Tatkare said that the party’s core group would also seek time to meet Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in this regard.
Sunetra Pawar stepped into her husband’s shoes as a deputy Chief Minister after Ajit Pawar’s death, but Fadnavis now holds the finance portfolio.
Tatkare also announced that the party would organise a week-long programme from July 22 to commemorate Ajit Pawar’s birth anniversary. PTI MR NSK KRK
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