Wadettiwar tells Supriya Sule to back delimitation if she wishes, but keep Congress out of it

Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar has responded to Supriya Sule's stand on delimitation and to talk of a merger of the two NCPs. He said that if Sule wished to support delimitation, she was welcome to do so, but she should not bring Congress's name into it.

According to Wadettiwar, during its delimitation Congress had only changed reserved constituencies. He said the number of constituencies was not increased, and they were not cut up to suit anyone's convenience.

He said that if Sule's stand reflected her own thinking, no one could stop her. He then asked what was done during delimitation in Assam. He alleged that illogical constituencies were created there by looking at caste and religion and at areas where opponents held influence. Wadettiwar said constituencies had been broken up through vote theft by way of SIR, and that the number was now rising under delimitation. If there is support, he said, it should be explained from what perspective. He said the matter would be discussed at his party's level. He told "Supriya didi" that if she wanted to support it, she should.

Wadettiwar said the delimitation carried out in Congress's time was transparent. Places where the population had fallen or risen were changed, and constituencies were not divided on the basis of caste and religion. He asked Sule to explain how Congress had done it. In his view, Congress would oppose any dishonest creation of constituencies for convenience.

On the NCP merger, Wadettiwar said Congress had nothing to do with it. He said some people were hungry for power and found no sweetness in their food and water. In his words, they were burning in their bodies without power, and so had to sit in the mud to relieve the itch, and the mindset of going into power had taken hold. He called this mindset dishonesty towards the people of Maharashtra and an insult to the votes they had cast. He said that if these people joined power, it would insult the voters who had voted against them.

Speaking of some people in Ajit Pawar's NCP, he said they had become cats sitting under the BJP's plate, belching after eating the leftovers. Wadettiwar said this was not hidden from the people of Maharashtra and he did not need to name anyone. He called these people dishonest and a pest afflicting Maharashtra. According to him, they wanted to go with those in power to cover their sins.

On the merger talk, Wadettiwar said some things were nearly settled. He said Pawar saheb was tired and not in good health. He said talk of the merger was intense because of who would get a ministerial post and who would become a minister at the Centre. He said some people were claiming on a large scale that there was some truth in it. But Congress had no concrete evidence, he said, and no one appeared to be denying it. Whether they were going or not was for those people to clarify, he said, and Congress would not get involved.

Wadettiwar said Congress was in a wait-and-watch role on the matter. He said Congress would stay with progressive thinking and would have no ties with anyone who joined casteist and bigoted forces. According to him, if anyone went with those who were selling the country, the public would come out on the streets and show them their place at the time of voting. He said Maharashtra and Congress were watching what decision would be taken.