Published 18:08 IST, January 1st 2020
Congress MLA Sangram Thopate, whose spporters vandalised party office, condemns incident
Congress MLA Sangram Thopate on Wednesday condemned the vandalism incident that took place at the party office in Pune after he was denied a Cabinet berth.
Congress MLA SSangram Thopate on Wednesday condemned the incident of vandalism that took place after he was not given a Cabinet berth. On Tuesday, supporters of the Congress MLA from Bhor in Pune district vandalised the party office in Pune.
'I agree with the leadership's decision'
Thopate said, "What has happened is wrong and condemnable. Whatever decision leadership arrived on I agreed to that and I will agree with it in the future too." The incident took place a day after the Cabinet swearing-in. Police said that supporters ransacked the party office and raised slogans against the leadership.
The incident took place when Congress MLAs met Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi and former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on December 31. According to sources, a rift broke out within the party over the allocation of portfolios amid the cabinet expansion, with a number of senior leaders miffed at being excluded. Additionally, state in-charge Mallikarjun Kharge has been called in to look into the matter and handle the situation.
On Monday, during the cabinet expansion oath ceremony, Ajit Pawar once again took oath as Deputy CM after his three-day stint in November with the short-lived Fadnavis government. Shiv Sena's 13 ministers (10 - cabinet, 3 - MoS), NCP's 13 ministers (10 - cabinet, 3 - MoS) and Congress' 10 ministers (8 - cabinet, 2 - MoS) took oath on Monday at 12 PM in the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha. Uddhav Thackeray was sworn in as the chief minister of Maharashtra on November 28 along with six ministers — two each from alliance partners the Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress.
Updated 18:08 IST, January 1st 2020