Mumbai, Jan 25 (PTI) Hours after Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) invited Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) to be a part of the opposition alliance in Maharashtra, Ambedkar on Thursday launched a broadside against state Congress chief Nana Patole, saying he had no decision-making power.
His party will join seat-sharing discussions if the top brass of the Congress extended invitation, Ambedkar said in a letter to Patole.
Earlier in the day, a letter signed by Patole, state NCP (Sharad Pawar group) chief Jayant Patil and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut was sent to Ambedkar, requesting him to depute senior VBA leaders for seat-sharing talks.
In his letter to Patole, which was shared with reporters, Ambedkar claimed that Raut and Jayant Patil had told him that the Congress high-command had not bestowed decision-making powers on Patole, and both Sena (UBT) and NCP communicate directly with either Rahul Gandhi or Mallikarjun Kharge.
It seemed that Patole was playing “mind games” with the people of Maharashtra or there was a “locha” (problem) in his brain, Ambedkar said.
AICC in-charge for Maharashtra Ramesh Chennithala on January 23 explicitly stated that VBA will be included in the MVA once the elections were announced, but “you today posted a self-signed invitation for a meeting,” he said.
“Send us an invitation with respect, signed by the presidents of the respective parties, namely Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar) and Congress. If the VBA is called for a meeting by one of the following, Ramesh Chennithala, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi or Mallikarjun Kharge, we will attend the meeting with no hesitation,” said Ambedkar, who is the grandson of Dr B R Ambedkar.
The MVA letter to Ambedkar said the “country is passing through tough times and a voice against dictatorship is being raised,” and there was a need to protect the Constitution and the country.
The three MVA allies were meeting on Thursday to discuss seat-sharing and “we wish that VBA should be a part of the alliance talks,” it added.
Earlier this month, Ambedkar had said Shiv Sena (UBT) and VBA can contest 24 seats each out of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra if the MVA allies failed to finalise a seat-sharing formula. PTI ND/MR GK KRK
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