Shiv Sena minister Bharat Gogawale on Tuesday remained absent at the annual meeting of the Raigad District Planning and Development Committee (DPDC) chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. NCP leader and Women & Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare was present at the meeting.
Local Sena MLAs Mahendra Dalvi and Mahendra Thorve too were not present.
“We were not sent any official invitation. If this was an official meeting about Raigad’s development, the district collector should have invited all the MLAs. We were not even provided with an online link to join,” claimed Dalvi.
But an official in Ajit Pawar’s office said that as Nashik and Raigad districts do not have guardian ministers at present, only ministers from the districts were invited. It was a pre-budget meeting and hence held in Finance Minister Pawar’s office, he said.
Gogawale clarified the matter while speaking to the media. “I had been informed in advance that I would not be attending the meeting. I had a scheduled event in Raigad, where 40,000-50,000 people were waiting for me. Therefore, it was necessary for me to be there.” However, a political debate is ongoing about whether Gogawale genuinely prioritized this event or if his absence from the meeting was a way to express his displeasure.
