NCP Activist Claims Sharad Pawar’s Life In Danger, Files Police Complaint

An activist of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has filed a police complaint alleging a plot to kill party chief Sharad Pawar. The complaint, lodged at the Pune’s Shivajinagar police station, said that attempt is being made to dislodge the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

Laxmikant Mohanlal Khabiya, the NCP activist, claimed since the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance took office in November, some social media websites and YouTube channels had been running inflammatory campaigns against the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government.

"These sites are spreading hatred and dividing people in the name of caste and community, putting up objectionable posters and exhorting youth to 'eliminate Pawar with the help of bombs and bullets', which is a matter of serious concern," Khabiya said in his complaint.

Khabiya, who runs a social organisation called Sharad Krida Sanskrutik Pratishthan, has also named as accused a local journalist and a netizen. He also mentioned some website, portals and YouTube channels for featuring provocative content.

When contacted, NCP officials in Mumbai and Pune refused to react on the development.

NCP accused central government of withdrawing Pawar’s security

Last month, the NCP accused the central government of withdrawing Pawar’s security at his official residence in New Delhi and charged it with playing “vendetta politics”.

Maharashtra minister and NCP’s chief spokesperson Nawab Malik said party leaders cannot be scared off with such a move. The party’s fight against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will continue, he asserted.

Malik said Pawar, a Rajya Sabha MP and former Union minister, had ‘Y’ category security cover in the national capital.

The security personnel deployed at Pawar’s residence at 6 Janpath in the national capital stopped reporting at the bungalow since January 20 and there was no prior intimation from the government about it, he added.

The 79-year-old NCP president enjoys ‘Z+’ category protection in Maharashtra, where his party is a key constituent in the Shiv Sena-led government. Pawar had played the lead role in crafting the three-party ruling coalition in Maharashtra in November last year. The Congress is the third constituent of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi.

With PTI Inputs