Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: The main opposition parties, the BJP and the Shiv Sena, have demanded immediate resignation of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar for his objectionable `urine` remark on the drought situation in Maharashtra.
Reports on Friday said that the BJP`s women wing will also hold a protest in Mumbai later today.
The opposition attack on NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s nephew comes a day after he ridiculed a farmer who has been on a hunger strike for nearly two months and made the highly condemnable ‘urine’ remark.
"There is this person from Solapur, sitting on hunger strike for 55 days demanding water be released from the dam. But where are we going to get water from? Should we urinate? And when we don`t have water to drink, it`s hard to pass urine as well,” he said.
Reacting to his comment, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said, "Such a statement is highly condemnable and especially the way he has said it. Our party has demanded his resignation and we will pull this up in the Assembly."
With the opposition taking a serious note of his comment, Ajit Pawar was forced to apologise for his tasteless and callous comments.
"I humbly apologise to the people of Maharashtra for having hurt their sentiments. The state govt is committed to providing every kind of relief for drought affected regions. There are some people who are looking to politicise the issue of drought," Ajit Pawar said.
His own party found it hard to defend him. NCP leader Jitendra Awhad said, "In his serious speech he just made a humorous remark. He wasn`t ridiculing anyone." While NCP leaders claim that the comment was not to be taken seriously, party supremo Sharad Pawar also apologised on behalf of his nephew and state’s Deputy Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena has also asked for Ajit Pawar`s removal. "The Chief Minister has full authority to remove such a minister from his cabinet. We don`t demand his resignation, we demand he should be expelled," Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said.
