Pune:Cabinet minister and senior BJP member Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil on Friday accused NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar of trying to gain political mileage over the death of his uncle, Ajit Pawar, in a plane crash, and alleged that he and Sharad Pawar did not give the former deputy chief minister the respect he deserved when he was alive.“The entire state knows how he behaved with Ajit Pawar when he was alive. He and his granduncle (Sharad Pawar) did not give Ajit Pawar the respect he deserved,” Vikhe Patil told reporters in Ahilyanagar.Rohit termed the BJP minister’s statement “irresponsible” and “unfortunate”. “Nobody should face an unfortunate incident like Ajit Pawar. While I have not at all brought up any politics in the issue, I was shocked by Vikhe Patil’s statement. Is he trying to divert the entire plane crash incident by making a political statement?” Rohit said.Rohit made two presentations earlier and raised some issues related to the Jan 28 plane crash in Baramati in which Ajit Pawar and four others were killed.The relationship among the Pawar family members had turned bitter after Ajit Pawar rebelled against his uncle, Sharad Pawar, to join Mahayuti with some MLAs in July 2023. Following the split in NCP, there was a war of words between Ajit Pawar and Rohit, who sided with the senior Pawar.After Ajit Pawar’s death, many senior members of NCP (SP), including Sharad Pawar and Rohit, claimed that Ajit Pawar wanted to end the bitterness by merging both the parties.In sharp contrast, Vikhe Patil said the NCP leadership did injustice with Ajit Pawar, referring to the 2004 assembly poll results. He said NCP gave the chief minister’s post to its alliance partner Congress despite winning more seats. “The party deprived Ajit Pawar of the chief minister’s post. They (Sharad Pawar and Rohit Pawar) should give an explanation for it,” Vikhe Patil said.
