“Come to me only if you are bullied or oppressed,” he told party workers and leaders at a public felicitation ceremony here on Sunday evening.

Pawar said that henceforth he would not be able to devote more time for them. He advised them to approach his cousin, Supriya Sule, an MP who is also the daughter of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, with their grievances.

On the Adarsh housing scam, Pawar said: “It would be improper for me to comment on the issue as the matter is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The picture and truth will emerge soon.”

Referring to the unanimous election of Congress candidate Anil Bhosale from Pune in the recently held elections to the Maharashtra Legislative Council, Pawar thanked the Shiv Sena–BJP alliance for not fielding any candidate against the NCP candidate and getting him elected unopposed.

Expressing his gratitude to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray, Pawar said: “The MNS had played a vital role in the Congress-NCP Democratic Front government coming to power for the third time. In the past two terms the Congress-NCP alliance had grabbed power due to the excellent work performance of the government. But it cannot be denied that our alliance came to power and gained success at the polls a year ago due to the MNS factor."

The junior Pawar, who is also the guardian minister for Pune, shedding light on his next move in his new role as deputy chief minister, said: “I will try to focus on balanced development across all the regions with the cooperation of the state administration and the Congress-NCP alliance government."

Anticipating trouble from his beta-noire and senior NCP leader and Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who also has a mass following among the minorities and ‘Other Backward Classes’ in the state and who Pawar had dethroned from the post of the deputy chief minister, Pawar said: “The NCP supremo Sharad Pawar had formed the NCP, and since then has been carrying the legacy of OBC and Dalit (low-caste Hindus) leaders Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar for the welfare of the masses. We will extend all our support to all sections of the minorities, the OBC and the Dalits."

Meanwhile, according to a senior Congress leader, the oath taking ceremony of ministers of the new state government is likely to be delayed by two more days, as all the senior Congress leaders including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, AK Anthony, Pranab Mukherjee and Ahmed Patel are busy in Parliament on the 2-G spectrum scam issue.