Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday appealed to people not to politicize the death of his nephew and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who lost his life in the Baramati plane crash.
The veteran leader said the plane crash was an accident and “politics should not be dragged into it”.
“This is a huge loss for Maharashtra. Maharashtra has lost a dynamic and decisive leader. Some people are saying there is politics behind it, but it was an accident and there is no politics involved in it. Politics should not be dragged into this,” Pawar said in a video message.
The incident comes after Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee expressed suspicion of a conspiracy behind the plane crash and demanded a Supreme Court probe into the incident.
In a post on Twitter, Mamata Banerjee said, “I am deeply saddened and shocked by the sudden demise of Ajit Pawar! The Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and his co-passengers have died in a horrific plane crash in Baramati this morning, and I am deeply saddened. My deepest condolences to his family, including his uncle Sharad Pawar, and all the friends and supporters of late Ajit. There should be a proper investigation into this incident.”
Supporting Mamata Banerjee, senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh questioned the timing of the accident, claiming that Ajit Pawar had planned to leave the BJP only a few days ago.
He said, “The demise of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is a very sad incident. Our supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have talked about this. There should be a thorough investigation; this is the demand of our party. A few days ago news came that Ajit Pawar is planning to leave BJP and form an alliance with the opposition. The news of this accident has come at such a time. There should be a thorough investigation.”
Furthermore, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge described his death as “untimely” and the accident as “unnatural”. He demanded an investigation into the accident.
Kharge said, “We will demand an investigation into this accident. It is a very tragic incident. Ajit Pawar passed away untimely. The death of a hard-working man has shocked all of us. We are with his family in this hour of grief. This accident should be investigated because it is unnatural. All leaders and people of the corporate world travel by air for important work. It was a small plane, so why did this happen? It should be investigated.”
66-year-old Ajit Pawar’s plane crashed while attempting to land at Baramati airport in Pune district this morning, killing all five people on board. The plane crashed on the edge of the runway, killing all five people on board the chartered flight. The dead included his personal security officer, a flight attendant and two pilots.
The accident occurred around 8.48 am and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau have sent investigation teams to the crash site for investigation.
Pawar was going from Mumbai to Baramati to campaign for the district panchayat elections.
Ajit Pawar has been the longest serving Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and this tenure has not been continuous. He held the post of Deputy Chief Minister six times in different governments. He served as Deputy Chief Minister in the cabinets of Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde.
He is survived by his wife Sunetra Pawar and two sons Jai and Parth Pawar.