NCP Chief Sharad Pawar Terms Maharashtra Floor Test Order As Tribute To Ambedkar On Constitution Day

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday hailed the Supreme Court's Maharashtra floor test order. Pawar senior took to Twitter to express his happiness over the order. “I am grateful to Hon’ble SC for upholding democratic values and constitutional principles. It’s heartening that the Maharashtra Verdict came on the #ConstitutionDay, a Tribute to Bharatratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar (sic)!,” Pawar said on Twitter. The statement comes even as there are reports coming in the his rebel nephew Ajit Pawar is likely to resign as Deputy Chief Minister and return to fold. It should be noted that Pawar junior has not taken the charge of his office. Pawar had yesterday said that, "I have seen many such scenarios in my 50 years of political career. Difficulties come but they are temporary, and my experience is that people of the state stand strong," the NCP chief said.

I am grateful to Hon’ble SC for upholding democratic values and constitutional principles. It’s heartening that the Maharashtra Verdict came on the #ConstitutionDay, a Tribute to Bharatratna Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar!

— Sharad Pawar (@PawarSpeaks) November 26, 2019

On Monday, Sharad Pawar launched a scathing attack against Ajit Pawar and said Ajit mislead the party workers and NCP will take stern action against him. Sharad Pawar was speaking at Mumbai's Grand Hyatt during the NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena's show of strength. Ajit Pawar recently joined hands with the BJP and took oath as Maharashtra deputy chief minister. Pawar also said that all the three parties will form the government in Maharashtra democratically.

On Tuesday, during the hearing in the Supreme Court, advocate Maninder Singh, who was representing Ajit Pawar had said, "There is nothing to contradict my list. I was authorised to lend support on the day I gave that letter. I will resolve my inter-party disputes but this petition must end now." Adding to it, Ajit Pawar said, 'I am NCP'. Meanwhile, the BJP said the floor test in Maharashtra assembly on Wednesday will establish the position of different parties in its entirety. Its national spokesperson Nalin Kohli also rejected the contention that the Supreme Court order on the floor test on Wednesday is a "setback" to the BJP, asserting that "no judicial pronouncement on issues of the Constitution can be a setback to any political party".

Judicial orders only strengthen the Constitution, he added. "Is not an irony and political hypocrisy when on the one hand political parties speak about constitutional values and on the other hand express an intention to boycott parliament on the occasion of Constitutional Day," he said, attacking the Congress and other BJP rivals for boycotting the joint sitting of Parliament which is being held to mark 70 years of the adoption of the Constitution. To a question if the order was a setback to the BJP, he said, "No judicial pronouncement on issues of the constitution can be a setback to any political party because such pronouncements ensure strengthening of constitutional provisions and add to the further evolution of democracy."