RPI flays Pawar for "voting twice" remark, demands action

Mumbai: Republican Party of India (A) today criticised NCP chief Sharad Pawar for asking his party workers to vote twice and asked the Election Commission to check his statement and take appropriate action.

"We will not tolerate bogus voting. We will strongly oppose them (NCP). The Election Commission of India (ECI) should check his statement and take action accordingly," RPI(A) chief Ramdas Athawale told reporters here. RPI(A) is an ally in the `Mahayuti` in Maharashtra. He however, said that the Maratha strongman usually does not make such "illegal statements." Athawale`s party colleague and ex-IPS officer PK Jain said, "the statement made by Pawar was a serious one. Action could be taken against him." In potentially controversial remarks, the Union Agriculture Minister today asked his party workers to take advantage of the multi-phase polling in the state by voting twice, first at their hometowns and then at places of work. Meanwhile, former IPS officer SP Pathak, former judge Ashok Khillare and MNS leader Aziz Nawab Sheikh joined the Dalit outfit.