INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
MUMBAI: Former Union minister Praful Patel, who is with the NCP group led by Ajit Pawar, on Wednesday took a dig at the meeting of
opposition parties in Patna last month, saying he felt "like laughing" when he saw the scene where seven of 17 opposition parties present
have only one MP in the Lok Sabha and there was a party which has no MP.Patel, who was speaking at the meeting of NCP leaders called by the
Ajit Pawar group at Mumbai Education Trust Bandra, said they have taken the decision of joining NDA in Maharashtra for the nation "and our
party and not for personal gain".The crisis in Nationalist Congress Party escalated on Wednesday with the two groups holding simultaneous
meetings in a show of strength.Praful Patel took part in the meeting of opposition parties in Patna on June 23 with Sharad Pawar
The former union minister was a close aide of Sharad Pawar before he switched sides.Praful Patel said questions were being raised on their
joining hands and listed parties such as PDP and National Conference which had been with the BJP in the past."When we could accept the
ideology of Shiv Sena, then what is the objection in going with BJP? We have joined this alliance as an independent entity
Mehbooba Mufti and Farooq Abdullah went with BJP in Jammu and Kashmir and they are now part of the joint opposition," he said.He scoffed at
opposition parties' claim of bringing a change."I went to the joint opposition meeting in Patna with Sharad Pawar, and I felt like laughing
when I saw the scene there
There were 17 opposition parties there, 7 of them have only one MP in the Lok Sabha and there is one party that has zero MPs
They claim they will bring change..
This decision (of joining NDA) we have taken is for the nation and our party and not for personal gain," he said.
