Children can grow up but they should be obedient: Narayan Rane on Ajit Pawar's land deal response

The controversial land deal linked to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's son, Parth, has given a new handle to the NCP stalwart's traditional political rivals to target him over his response to allegations. The BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP are constituents of the ruling Mahayuti alliance. Responding to Ajit Pawar's earlier remark that ''when your children grow up, they do their own business,'' BJP MP Narayan Rane on Saturday quipped, ''Children can grow up, but they should be obedient. What more can I say about it?''. Once a vocal critic of Ajit Pawar in the past, Rane refrained from making further comments on the issue.

Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil has said that Ajit Pawar's ''busy schedule'' may have delayed his response to the controversy. ''If Ajit Pawar had acted when he first got wind of the Pune land issue, this situation might not have arisen. But considering his busy schedule, sometimes a few decisions happen automatically,'' Vikhe Patil told reporters on Friday. Vikhe Patil, a former Congressman, and the Pawars have been political rivals in western Maharashtra for decades. The controversy pertains to the alleged illegal sale of 40 acres of government land in Pune's Mundhwa area, reportedly worth around Rs 1,800 crore, which Opposition leaders claim was purchased by a company linked to Ajit Pawar's son Parth for only Rs 300 crore with a stamp duty waiver.

While an FIR was registered on Thursday against three persons, including one of the partners in the company and a government official, for causing loss to the exchequer, Ajit Pawar denied any connection to the transaction.

He had heard of the matter a few months ago and made it clear that he would not tolerate any wrongdoing, he said.