'Will quit politics if...': Ajit Pawar on reports of his 'disguised' visits to Delhi, calls Sanjay Raut 'morning siren'

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday said that he will quit politics if media reports about him visiting Union Home Minister Amit Shah before his party entered into alliance with the BJP were proven true. Pawar, who also heads the ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), also challenged the opposition leaders.

He said that if these reports are found to be false, then those who made these claims should leave politics. The Deputy CM also alleged that efforts are being made to defame him.

"The news of me going to Delhi in disguise is false. If I want to go anywhere, I will go openly. There is no need for me to be afraid of anyone. If the reports of disguise are proven, I will quit politics," newswire PTI quoted Ajit Pawar as saying. 

The NCP-Ajit chief was alluding to news reports suggesting that during an informal interaction recently, he himself claimed that he held meetings in Delhi on the BJP-NCP alliance. 

Pawar reportedly claimed : "I used to wear a mask and a cap during air travel while going to Delhi to attend those meetings. I had changed my name also for air travel."  Calling himself "an activist who works in democracy", Pawar said that he does not do politics by hiding anything.

He further accused opposition parties -- Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) -- maligning him and his party with fake news and narratives as they are rattled by the welfare schemes implemented by the Mahayuti government. 

Furthermore, Pawar mentioned that when the incident, he was leader of opposition in the Maharashtra assembly. "Everyone recognises me and therefore, such an incident is impossible. Everything going on at present is wrong. These reports do not have any basis or evidence," he said. 

Taking an apparent jibe at Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, the NCP supremo said that efforts are on to defame him. "At present, efforts are on in the state to defame me. The number of talkative people has increased. The morning siren says anything about anyone," he said. 

In the recent Lok Sabha elections, NCP-Ajit could win only one of the four seats it contested, whereas the NCP faction led by Sharad Pawar bagged 8 of the 10 seats it fought on. The NCP is one of the constituents of the ruling Mahayuti, which also includes the BJP and the Shiv Sena.