Ajit Pawar retracts claim that Gautam Adani participated in 2019 BJP-NCP talks
‘In state government formation, there is no role of an industrialist...Sometimes we are so busy, and by mistake, I made a statement,’ the deputy CM claimed.
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Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, in an interview to ANI on Friday, retracted his statement from two days ago that industrialist Gautam Adani was present at key meetings regarding government formation in Maharashtra after state Assembly elections in 2019.
“In state government formation, there is no role of an industrialist,” said Ajit Pawar. “Sometimes we are so busy, and by mistake, I made a statement.”
Ajit Pawar had earlier told The News Minute-Newslaundry that top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, including Amit Shah and Devendra Fadnavis, and the undivided Nationalist Congress Party, including Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel, were at the meetings along with Adani.
In response to his nephew’s comments, Sharad Pawar on Thursday confirmed that Adani had hosted a dinner at his New Delhi residence but did not participate in the political discussions.
Sharad Pawar added that some leaders facing cases from central agencies were assured that their cases would be dropped if they aligned with the BJP in 2019. Though initially sceptical, he attended the meeting after being urged by colleagues to hear directly from Shah, he claimed.
On Friday, the deputy chief minister stated that Adani did not attend the meetings, though they were held at the businessman’s guest house. When asked if he had been pressured to clarify...
