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Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar has issued a notice against party MLA Sangram Jagtap, following his controversial statement asking Hindus to purchase goods only from Hindu-owned shops.
Pawar said that Jagtap's remarks were against the NCP's ideology and the party will not tolerate it. The deputy chief minister added that a further decision will be taken following Jagtap's reply to the notice. Pawar said, "This matter is against the party's ideology, and therefore, we had to issue a show-cause notice against him. That's why the notice has been sent. You see, whether you are a member or a leader of any national party, if you start speaking against the party's ideology, no party will tolerate it. Hence, the notice has been issued." "This is a part of the procedure. Once we receive a reply to that notice, a further decision will be taken accordingly," the NCP chief said. Ajit Pawar's clampdown comes after MLA Jagtap reportedly said in his address at a public event recently that, for the festival of Diwali, Hindus should buy things from Hindu shops only. This sparked a political row in Maharashtra with Nationalist Congress Party- Sharadchandra Pawar [NCP (SP)] MLA Shashikant Shinde hitting out at the State government for its "silence" over Jagtap's remarks. He said that the leaders resort to communal and caste lines to be in power. Addressing a press conference on Monday, Shinde said, "Communal and caste politics are not a custom in Maharashtra. To be in power and appease people, they create a divide along the lines of religion and caste. There has been an attempt to create an environment that targets a specific community. The government is silent on remarks on where and whom to buy things from...This should be opposed." (ANI)
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