Ajit Pawar says son meeting criminal ‘not right’

Mumbai: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Friday disapproved of his son Parth’s meeting with Pune’s notorious criminal Gaja Marane. Mr. Pawar said the meeting should not have taken place. He admitted that Marne was once inducted in the NCP, but he was soon removed from the party after his past came to light. 

“The meeting between Parth and Gajanan Marne was absolutely wrong. I am collecting information in this regard. It seems a party worker took Parth to a place where Gajanan Marne was present. Such a thing should not have happened. When I meet Parth, I will tell him that his behaviour was wrong,” Ajit said.

Photographs of the meeting between Parth Pawar and Marne along with several NCP workers was widely circulated on social media. Gajanan Marne, once associated with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), faced expulsion due to widespread criticism. Known for multiple criminal cases, including serious offenses like



murder, Marne's recent association with Parth Pawar has reignited political discussions in the lead-up to the Lok Sabha elections.

The visit, attended by NCP members, including city president Deepak Mankar, has become a focal point of discussion within political circles and among the public. Ajit Pawar said such a thing had happened to him in the past also. “This happened in Pimpri-Chinchwad. A local Pimpri-Chinchwad leader had brought a person to me to include him in the party. That individual joined the party. 

Later that day I learnt he is a goon. I immediately removed him from the party,” he said. NCP's Pune Working President, Pradip Deshmukh said that the NCP has organised a public outreach programme, involving meetings with key individuals in the constituency. As part of this initiative, Parth Pawar also held meetings with dignitaries in the Khadakwasla constituency, he said.