'Ajit Pawar holding meetings with other ministry officials is normal practice'
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Praful Patel has justified Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar holding meetings with officials of ministries other than his own, by stating that it was a normal practice. Patel was responding to questions by the media about Ajit Pawar chairing a meeting of projects which were already being monitored by the chief minister.
«He is the Deputy Chief Minister.
He is also the finance and planning minister. He has the full authority in seeking information about every department and getting them to implement the decisions of the Cabinet.
There is nothing wrong in what he has done. I have also worked in the Delhi government and this is how it is done,» Patel told reporters in Nagpur.
On August 8, Ajit Pawar chaired a review meeting of projects that were already being monitored by a special cell — the Chief Minister's 'War Room'.
The War Room, created by previous chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, is meant to monitor and fast track crucial infrastructure and other projects in the state. Ajit Pawar had called the August 8 meeting to discuss the Pune Ring Road, Pune Nashik High Speed Rail and the extended lines for the Pune Metro.
The meeting also raised several eyebrows because Ajit Pawar formed another cell, a Project Monitoring Unit, to have a re-look at these projects.
Ajit Pawar calling a meeting of the departments not under his purview had raised concerns in the Shiv Sena (Shinde group) as they believed that this was yet another example of Pawar throwing his weight around in the government.
If Praful Patel's statement on Wednesday is to be believed there will be several more meetings of Ajit Pawar with other departments.
Last week, Ajit Pawar apparently questioned the chief minister during a
