Mumbai: In a sign of a rift between Mahayuti allies, Shiv Sena functionary Ramdas Kadam on Monday demanded a probe to determine whether NCP MP Sunil Tatkare had any role in late deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s death in a plane crash in Jan this year, alleging that he was “capable of doing anything”.Kadam, whose son, Yogesh Kadam, is the junior state home minister, suggested that Tatkare had coveted the deputy CM’s post, which went to Ajit’s wife, Sunetra, after his death.“Tatkare cannot belong to anyone… I have already said this. Sunil Tatkare was [the late veteran Congress neta A R] Antulay saheb‘s PA. Tatkare also finished [the political career of] Antulay saheb. He finishes whoever gets close to him. I am hearing that he wants to become the deputy CM. Then there is a suspicion that he was involved in Ajit Pawar’s death. An inquiry should be conducted in that regard. He has monstrous ambitions. He can do anything,” he said.NCP functionaries said Tatkare will clarify his stand soon. Party spokesperson Umesh Patil asked Kadam to substantiate his allegations with evidence, saying it was inappropriate to make accusations without proof. He said the charges appeared to have stemmed from past political rivalry and power struggles in the Konkan region, which was traditionally considered a stronghold of undivided Shiv Sena.Congress neta Vijay Wadettiwar jumped into the controversy and demanded an inquiry into the grave accusations.Kadam, a former MLA, had triggered a row with another Mahayuti ally, BJP, last month after alleging that the person behind the release of an audio clip that claimed deputy CM Eknath Shinde’s son, Shrikant Shinde, paid Rs 500 crore to quell Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange’s agitation had connections with the party, and that Jarange had targeted Shinde through BJP.Kadam also accused Tatkare of depriving 14 Konkan villages of water. “The Koyna dam is in Sunil Tatkare’s in-laws’ place. Ajit and you are accused of [corruption] in 16 dams, one of which is Koyna. Because of you, work on this dam has been stopped for the last 25 years… This was your sin. When Ajit supported BJP, all these allegations were withdrawn. Everyone knows,” he said.Calling Tatkare “ungrateful”, he said, “I worked shoulder to shoulder with him in Khed, Dapoli, Mandangad and Guhagar constituencies (while campaigning for the 2024 Lok Sabha election). But he campaigned against my son in the assembly elections. The special feature is that when BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena were in an alliance, Tatkare helped Bhaskar Jadhav (of Shiv Sena (UBT)) in Guhagar. He has no moral right to speak against me.”
