Mumbai, March 24 (IANS) NCP-SP legislator Rohit Pawar, on Tuesday, launched a scathing attack on the Maharashtra government and the ruling MahaYuti alliance, alleging a deliberate attempt to suppress the truth behind the death of former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash.

Initiating debate on the last week's motion moved by the Opposition, Rohit Pawar expressed deep disappointment that a leader of Ajit Pawar's stature -- who served the state for more than 22 years -- has not received justice.

He accused the NCP MLAs of Ajit Pawar-led faction of being more concerned about "funds and power" than their late party leader.

"Except for NCP MLA Chetan Tupe, not a single member of his party (Ajit Pawar's NCP) spoke up. These MLAs left Sharad Pawar citing a lack of funds, claiming they wanted to work for the people under Ajit Dada. Now, when it comes to investigating his death, they are silent. Is power more important than the man who made them MLAs?" Rohit Pawar asked.

The NCP-SP leader criticised the state government for its alleged refusal to register an FIR in connection with Ajit Pawar's death.

He said that despite approaching the Marine Drive Police Station, Baramati Police, and the CID, no case was registered.

Frustrated by the state's inaction, Rohit Pawar added that he travelled to Bangaluru.

Drawing a parallel to a recent incident where a "Zero FIR" was filed in Karnataka regarding an insult to Justice Bhushan Gawai in Delhi, the NCP-SP legislator told the State Assembly that he successfully registered a Zero FIR regarding Ajit Pawar's accident in a Bengaluru police station.

The Karnataka Director General of Police (DGP) M.A. Saleem has transferred the FIR in the Ajit Pawar death case to Maharashtra DGP Sadanand Vasant Date.

Rohit Pawar has now challenged the state government to act on it.

He raised several red flags regarding VSR Aviation, the company which operated the ill-fated aircraft, in which the late Ajit Pawar was onboard.

The NCP-SP legislator claimed the aircraft given to Ajit Pawar was in such poor condition that it "wouldn't even pass as scrap".

He alleged that a 2023 tender for new aircraft was cancelled after VSR Aviation's owner caused a ruckus in the Ministry of Aviation because his company was ineligible due to a prior accident history.

"If new planes were bought, Ajit Dada would be alive today," Rohit Pawar claimed.

He revealed details involving former Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's visit to Davos, claiming the same company's plane was nearly shot down in Iran-Iraq airspace because they hadn't secured flight permissions.

Directing his plea toward current Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar (wife of late Ajit Pawar), Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Rohit Pawar urged them to stop the delay in the probe regarding Ajit Pawar's death.

He noted that even though the Ajit Pawar-led NCP requested a CBI probe 35 days ago, the central agency is yet to take up the case.

The state Assembly saw heated political exchanges between the ruling MahaYuti and Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi following these remarks.

Opposition Leader Vijay Wadettiwar supported the concerns raised by Rohit Pawar, questioning how a fatal aviation accident could occur without a primary FIR being registered.

NCP-SP legislator Jitendra Awhad also added that the state government's refusal to file an FIR was a violation of Supreme Court guidelines.

"If a leader (Ajit Pawar) who gave 40 years to this land (Maharashtra) cannot get an FIR registered for his death, what hope does a common man have?" Rohit Pawar concluded.

--IANS

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