Senior NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Dilip Walse Patil on Sunday dismissed reports that he joined the Ajit Pawar camp because of a notice issued by the Enforcement Directorate.
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Speaking at an event in his Assembly constituency Ambegaon in Pune district, a week after he was sworn in as a minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP government, Walse Patil said he owes his political existence to the Pawar senior.
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Walse Patil was one of the nine MLAs of the Nationalist Congress Party who joined the state cabinet last Sunday led by Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar.
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"I did not leave Sharad Pawar because of any notice from ED. I haven't received any notice from the ED, CBI, or Income Tax," Walse Patil told the gathering.
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He claimed there was no personal interest behind his decision to align with Ajit Pawar.
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"I heard somebody saying that I took this decision because Parag and Govardhan Dairy had received a notice from ED. I would like to clarify that I have nothing to do with these dairies. No one from our family has invested even a single rupee in these dairies," the NCP veteran, once a close confidante of the Pawar senior, said.
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Walse Patil said the battle of the Ajit Pawar camp is not against Pawar Saheb, as the NCP founder is popularly known.
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"Whatever I am today is because of Pawar Saheb. I would like to tell people that whenever Saheb will visit Ambegaon, you all must attend his programme. I am not worried about upcoming elections," he added.