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Amid a political war of words ahead of the local body polls in Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, while reacting to the remarks of Union MoS Murlidhar Mohol, said on Saturday, that the Constitution grants every individual the right to express their views, while urging the media to recall certain past issues.
Speaking to reporters in Pune, Ajit Pawar said, "The Constitution has given him the right to speak. There is a person named Ghaywal (a Pune based gangster who is absconding he had been booked in multiple crime) look at how he went abroad. Also check the Jain Boarding land scam. I am not making any allegation, but I am reminding the media of this." Pawar's remarks come amid heightened political exchanges between the BJP and the NCP in the run-up to the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad civic polls, with leaders from both sides trading barbs over corruption allegations and past controversies. BJP leaders, including State President Ravindra Chavan and Union MoS Murlidhar Mohol, had made statements targeting the NCP leadership, prompting strong reactions from Ajit Pawar. Earlier, Murlidhar Mohol had questioned the NCP's stance on crime in Pune, particularly in the backdrop of repeated calls by Pawar to curb criminal activities in the city and accused him of accommodating candidates with family members of criminal backgrounds in the Pune civic polls. Mohol had said that, "Pune's Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar says crime in this city should end and that koyta gangs should be eliminated. But if you look at the list of candidates given by his side from East Pune to South and from there to North Pune it clearly shows what kind of elements they have accommodated. We do not know what criteria this fits into." The political temperature in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad has been rising as major parties prepare for a direct contest in the civic elections, despite being allies at the Centre and in the Maharashtra government. (ANI)
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