Sacked mayor slams NCP
Sacked leader and mayor of Sangli municipal corporation Idris Naikwadi on Sunday came down heavily on his former party referring to it as the New Criminal Party instead of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Addressing a press conference, Mr Naikwadi said, “The NCP formed by Sharad Pawar has transformed into the New Criminal Party (NCP) run by rural development minister Jayant Patil in Sangli. That is the party I have been sacked from.”
Mr Patil who also hails from Sangli is said to have a stronghold in the district. According to party sources, Mr Patil had pressurised Mr Naikwadi to leave the post of mayor of Sangli. This upset Mr Naikwadi, who then turned to Congress minister Patangrao Kadam. When the party got a whiff of this, he was sacked from the NCP on the charges of “anti-party activities” on Saturday
A furious Mr Naikwadi said, “According to the Constitution of the NCP, a showcause notice is a must before taking any action against anyone from the party in order to give him a chance to express his version. But in my case, it was not followed. I have been sacked from the post of city president with just a letter. This also ends my primary membership from the party automatically.”
During Mr Naikwadi’s expulsion, the NCP had said that he was involved in anti-party activities and that he had refused to step down from the mayor’s post despite the party’s directives. Mr Naikwadi denied these charges. “The NCP did not have numbers to come to power in Sangli Municipal Corporation on its own. It is the alliance with other parties...Besides, I never got any directive from the party to resign. The allegations against me are completely false,” Mr Naikwadi said.
The former NCP leader went on to allege that the party, which started out with good objectives has turned into a criminal enterprise. “I was in the NCP not because of anyone’s clemency. I am happy and relieved after this,” he said.
Post new comment