[ad_1]
By Ritvick Arun Bhalekar: Industrialist Gautam Adani met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar at his Mumbai residence Silver Oak today. The closed-door talks lasted nearly two hours, sources said.
The meeting stands crucial as it came amid intense speculation over Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar joining hands with the BJP. Another reason why the meet stood out is that it followed Sharad Pawar defending Adani in a recent interview over the Hindenburg report controversy, despite the Congress and other opposition parties attacking the businessman on the issue.
In the budget session of the parliament, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s relationship with Gautam Adani, triggering a massive political whirlpool across the country.
Also Read | Gautam Adani meets Sharad Pawar in Mumbai amid Hindenburg row
The Opposition demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the allegations against Adani during the budget session. However, the session ended on April 6 and the next day, Pawar gave an interview to Gautam Adani-owned NDTV and said that the demand for a JPC was not feasible since the case is being heard in the Supreme Court.
In a way, Pawar was said to have taken away the air from the opposition’s demands. He took a step back as Rahul Gandhi and Uddhav Thackeray remained firm over their demand for a JPC probe. Pawar’s NCP is in a coalition with the Congress and Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena in Maharashtra.
Amid all this, the news of Sharad Pawar and Gautam Adani’s meeting today rocked the political circles in the state.
Also Read | Sharad Pawar trashes reports of Ajit Pawar-BJP alliance, says nephew busy in election work
Earlier, the two met on June 16, 2022 on the eve of the shift of power in Maharashtra. Adani was the chief guest at one of Pawar’s events in Baramati.
On the other hand, reports suggested that Ajit Pawar’s plan of joining the BJP failed since Sharad Pawar did not green light the move in the current political scenario. Hence, today’s meeting between Pawar and Adani is being seen as very crucial for future political developments in the state.
Interestingly, even Sanjay Raut, an MP from the Thackeray camp, met Sharad Pawar at his residence just hours after Adani left. Raut was there for 30 minutes and is likely to have discussed the NCP’s next step amid talk of a rift in the party, sources said.
Also Read | With NCP, will remain with NCP: Ajit Pawar on BJP alliance rumours
[ad_2]
