MUMBAI: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) embarrassed but unruffled by the arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of its senior leader and member of Parliament Padmasinh Patil in the murder case of Congress leader Pawan Raje Nimbalkar, yesterday came out in defense of Padmasinh, that has surprised political parties in the state.
Giving a clean chit to Padmasinh, NCP spokesman and general secretary D.P. Tripathi said in a statement yesterday "Until Padmasinh is not proven guilty in the court and charges proved against him, he remain innocent in our view. The party is committed to stand firmly behind him."
Tripathi further stated "The NCP has taken a decision to support and defend Padmasinh. Just because only someone has given a statement or made allegations, does not mean that he can be held guilty. He cannot be held guilty unless the court holds him guilty," he said.
Stating that the party had full faith in the CBI, Tripathi said "the CBI conducts investigations in its own methods. The judiciary has also its own role. Therefore, all should wait till the court judgment. It is not justified to jump the guns and draw the conclusion on holding Padmasinh guilty without waiting for the court judgment," he added and hoped that necessary action would be taken in the case according the laws of the country.
Federal Minister for Heavy Industries and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh demanded that the Congress party should scrap its alliance with the NCP and fight the forthcoming Assembly elections on its own strength.
Commenting on Deshmukh's remarks, Tripathi said "Irrespective of the status a Congress leader holds, it is not necessary to comment on his every statement. For the past nine years there is a Congress-NCP Democratic Front government in Maharashtra. This front would also continue for the Assembly elections to be held in October."
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena working President Uddhav Thackeray said in Pune yesterday said that Padmasinh was a "blot" on he face of Maharashtra. "For NCP president and federal Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Padmasinh may be an honorable leader in the state. But this honorable leader is a blot on the face of the state. A leader like him has absolutely no rights to represent the state. The Sena members of Parliament would not allow him to sit in the Parliament. Therefore, the NCP without continuing its shameless attitude any further should seek his resignation," Uddhav said.
Uddhav asked how a person can protect the people of the state when he dares to kill his own relative, a reference to Nimbalkar. "Padmasinh is an NCP member of Parliament. In fact, there is already a murder charge against him. The NCP should not have given him a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections. This is nothing but shamelessness which we would not tolerate. Padmasinh has no right to sit with this tainted image in the Parliament," Uddhav added.
