Ajit's resignation accepted, Sharad rules out Pawar vs Pawar battle

Mumbai: In a bid to defuse the political crisis in Maharashtra, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday met Ajit Pawar, party MLAs and senior leaders, including Praful Patel and Supriya Sule.

Addressing mediapersons after the meeting in Mumbai, the NCP chief said that the members of the party had given their suggestions on the issue in writing to him.

He further reiterated the demand for the White Paper on the alleged irrigation scam in Maharashtra to be tabled at the earliest.

The NCP chief said that Ajit Pawar\'s resignation was accepted, adding that the White Paper on irrigation must be tabled.

During the meeting, while the resignation of Ajit Pawar as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state was accepted, those of other party MLAs were rejected by the NCP leadership. Sharad Pawar, however, added that the members of the party wanted Ajit to reconsider his resignation.

Taking a dig at the media over reports of alleged rift between him and his nephew Ajit Pawar, the NCP chief said that there was a "bad news" for the media as there was no "Pawar vs Pawar" battle in the offing.

"Our family is united. There are no differences," he said.

The NCP chief said he would ask Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to accept the resignation of Ajit Pawar as the Deputy Chief Minister.

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