Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis along with Chief Trustee of Dehu Temple Trust Nitin More were allotted three minutes each to speak
Abhay Khairnar and Dheeraj Bengrut
Pune Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar did not get an opportunity to speak during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s programme at Dehu where he inaugurated a ‘shila’ (rock) temple at the existing Sant Tukaram Maharaj Mandir and later addressed devotees at nearby venue. This ‘snub’ led NCP leader Supriya Sule airing displeasure on behalf of the party.
Only two persons besides Modi spoke at the the 90-minute programme which was attended by about 50,000 people. Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis along with Chief Trustee of Dehu Temple Trust Nitin More were allotted three minutes each to speak. Others who shared dais with Modi at Dehu were Ajit Pawar, BJP state unit chief Chandrakant Patil and BJP Spiritual Cell head Tushar Bhosale.
NCP MP and Ajit Pawar’s cousin Supriya termed the ‘snub’ as “an insult of the state” adding that while Fadnavis, in his capacity as opposition leader, as given airtime while Ajit Pawar who attended the event as part of protocol, wasn’t allowed to speak. “Ajit Pawar’s office had requested (the PMO) that he be allowed to speak at the event as he is the Deputy CM and also the guardian minister of the district. The PMO did not approve it,” she told reporters in Amravati. “This is very serious, painful, shocking and not justified. This is an insult to Maharashtra,” the Lok Sabha member said.
According to More, entire program was planned and decided as per the protocol issued by the Prime Minister’s Office. “Under the programme schedule sent by PMO, there was no slot for a speech by Ajit Pawar. Even I was told to cut down my inaugural welcome speech and I spoke only for 3 minutes. We feel everyone on the dais should have been given the chance to speak though time constraint may have forced PMO to remove some names,” he said.