Pune:
NCP Sharadchandra Pawar leader Supriya Sule on Monday said the way the party was snatched away from its founding member was “wrong”, adding that the party and its symbol should be returned.
NCP Sharadchandra Pawar MP Supriya Sule said, “The way the party has been snatched from its founding member, this is completely wrong. We need to get our party back and sign (symbol)…There is democracy in the country, and this is wrong,” Ms Sule told reporters.
On the Supreme Court notice on a plea filed by the Nationalist Congress Party, Sharadchandra Pawar party chief Jitendra Awhad said: “I am very happy that the Supreme Court was very clear that they wanted to defend and protect democratic values in this country. .. the tenth schedule clearly says that you cannot have an independent identity until and unless you merge with a political party… I think Ajit Pawar's camp wants to destroy and demolish Sharad Pawar. They want to uproot Sharad Pawar from Maharashtra politics.”
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the Election Commission of India's (ECI) interim order allowing veteran leader Sharad Pawar to use the 'Nationalist Congress Party – Sharad Chandra Pawar' would remain in force until further notice.
“I am grateful to the Supreme Court for its decision and order that the symbol and party be returned within eight days,” she added.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Vishwanathan also allowed Sharad Pawar to approach the ECI for symbol allotment and said it would be allotted within a week of filing the application.
Further, the Ajit Pawar faction and the ECI were informed of Sharad Pawar's plea against the poll panel's order to officially recognize the Ajit Pawar faction as the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Sharad Pawar moved the Supreme Court challenging the ECI's decision to officially recognize the Ajit Pawar faction as the real NCP and the use of party symbols.
On February 6, the poll panel, while applying the majority test in the legislative wing, ruled that Ajit Pawar's faction was the real NCP and allowed the faction to use the 'bell' symbol for the party.
In its decision, the Election Commission had noted that the total number of NCP MLAs in the Maharashtra state assembly was 81 and out of this, Ajit Pawar filed affidavits of 57 MLAs in support while Sharad Pawar had only 28 affidavits.
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