Amid speculation of a “meeting” with NCP leaders Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel in Ahmedabad, home minister Amit Shah on Sunday said "everything need not be made public”. The cryptic response, which stopped well short of denying whether he had met the NCP duo, came after speculation swirled through the day of a secret meeting. NCP, however, came out with a formal denial.
“There was no such meeting, it is a BJP conspiracy. It’s a fact that Pawar and Patel were in Ahmedabad but they never met Shah, it’s planted news to divert attention from main issues,’’ NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said. Sources confirmed that Shah as well as Pawar and Patel happened to be in Ahmedabad on Saturday but there was no clarity on whether they met.
The development came as tensions sparked by the sensational plot to extort money from industrialist Mukesh Ambani escalated among the constituents of Maha Vikas Aghadi, and triggered intense speculation in the country's political and financial capitals.
Shah, BJP sources said, had taken time off his intense electioneering schedule to meet his two granddaughters whom he dotes on. Likewise, sources in Ahmedabad's business and political circles said Pawar and Patel, who were in Jaipur, had stopped in Ahmedabad on their way back to Mumbai and were hosted by industrialist Gautam Adani.
However, there was no confirmation from any quarter of them meeting Shah at the residence of the influential industrialist or any other place in Ahmedabad. Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel’s original plan was to visit the Statue of Unity along with Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani. However, the plan was shelved due to rising Covid-19 cases. They still decided to make a detour to Ahmedabad on their way back to Mumbai and after landing at Ahmedabad airport at 9.30 pm, drove straight to Adani’s residence. Sources said they stayed overnight and left at 10 am the next morning after breakfast.
If lack of verifiable information about the “meeting” failed to quell speculation, it has only partly to do with Shah refraining from scotching it. The buzz gained traction because of the timing. Sunday also saw senior NCP leader and Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar taking strong exception to Shiv Sena’s voluble MP Sanjay Raut taking a dig at Amit Deshmukh by saying that the latter got charge of the home department after Jayant Patil and Dilip Walse-Patil, Sharad Pawar’s original picks for the politically crucial assignment, backed out.
