"Will Talk To Nawab Malik First": Ajit Pawar On Fadnavis's Letter As Maharashtra Deputy CMs Clash Over NCP Leader

Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar, responded with a strong reply on Friday (8 December) to the letter from another deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Hindustan reported.

He stated that before revealing the stance of his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction on Nawab Malik, he would first discuss the matter with the former minister to understand his position.

Fadnavis had written a letter to Ajit Pawar on Thursday, opposing the seating of Nawab Malik on the ruling party's seat on the first day of the winter session of the state legislature.

Ajit Pawar mentioned that his NCP group had joined the ruling coalition 'Mahayuti' on 2 July, and Nawab Malik attended the assembly for the first time after all this had happened.

He said, "After listening to his (Malik's) side, I will present my and my party's stance." Malik faces allegations in the money laundering case related to the underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates.

Currently, Nawab Malik is out on bail on medical grounds. On Thursday, he participated in the winter session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

Supriya Sule, the executive president of the Sharad Pawar's NCP, referred to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the "Bhrasht (Corrupt) Jumla Party" and accused it of "insulting" former Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik and "trapping" the Ajit Pawar group.

Sule said, "I have read that letter (written by Fadnavis to Ajit Pawar), and the way Nawab Malik was insulted is wrong."