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Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said that to suggest a conspiracy behind Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar's death in the Baramati plane crash is "extremely unfortunate."
Addressing reporters, Eknath Shinde urged people not to politicise Ajit Pawar's death as it is "hurtful" to the family and people of Maharashtra. "When such incidents happen, it is not appropriate to do politics in such a situation. This is unfortunate... To do politics and suggest that there is some conspiracy involved is extremely unfortunate," he said. Shinde also noted that Ajit Pawar's uncle and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar has also urged not to politicise the Maharashtra Deputy CM's death. "Sharad Pawar Saheb has himself clarified that this was merely an accident, and there is no conspiracy. Maharashtra is completely in sorrow, in a sea of grief. We saw today that thousands and lakhs of people were there, calling out 'Ajit Dada, Ajit Dada'... To raise suspicions and make accusations when such an accident happens is hurtful to the family and the people of Maharashtra. There is plenty of time and many opportunities to do politics," Shind said. "At such a time, if someone from outside says something and makes accusations, it is not appropriate; it is wrong... No one should do politics on this, no one should try to take advantage of this for political gain," he added. This comes after Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee hinted at foul play behind the plane crash and demanded the Supreme Court's probe into the incident. In a post on X, Mamata Banerjee said, "Deeply shocked and stunned by the sudden demise of Ajit Pawar! The Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and his co-passengers have died in a disastrous plane crash at Baramati this morning, and I am feeling a deep sense of loss. My condolences to his family, including his uncle Sharad Pawar, and late Ajit's all friends and followers. The incident needs a proper investigation." Supporting Mamata Banerjee, senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh, questioned the timing of the accident, claiming that Ajit Pawar had planned to leave the BJP a few days ago. "The death of Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is a very sad matter. Our supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has spoken about this. There should be a full investigation into this; it is our party's demand. A few days ago, there was news that Ajit Pawar was planning to leave the BJP and form an alliance with the opposition. At such a time, news of this accident has come. There should be an investigation into this," he said. Eknath Shinde further expressed grief over the death of Ajit Pawar. "Today, a very unfortunate and tragic incident has occurred. We went to Baramati and met the family members of Ajit Pawar. I still can't believe that Ajit Dada is not with us anymore. Devendra Fadanavis, Ajit Dada and I were working as a team. We were working together for the development of Maharashtra. It would not be wrong to say that a mountain of grief has fallen upon us... This is not just a loss to the Pawar family but to the entire state of Maharashtra," he said. Ajit Pawar, 66, died this morning after the aircraft carrying him crashed while attempting to land at Baramati airport in Pune district. The plane crash-landed near the runway threshold, killing all five people on board the chartered plane. Among the deceased were his personal security officer, a flight attendant and two pilots. The crash occurred around 8.48 am, and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau have dispatched probe teams to the site of the mishap to investigate. Pawar was on his way to Baramati to campaign for the Zilla Panchayat elections. Pawar is survived by his wife Sunetra Pawar, a Rajya Sabha MP and two sons, Jay and Parth Pawar. The Maharashtra government has announced three days of state mourning. (ANI)
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