Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday declined NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) president Sharad Pawar's invite for a meal at his residence in Baramati in Pune district on Saturday, citing a hectic schedule.
Shinde sought to make light of the invite extended by his political rival, saying nothing much should be read into it. Two days ago, the former Union minister sprang a surprise when he invited Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, all his political rivals, to his residence in Baramati for a meal. Shinde and the two deputy CMs will be in Baramati, the home turf of the NCP founder, on Saturday to inaugurate a job fair.
Fadnavis has also declined the invite, citing his busy schedule, while the stand of Ajit Pawar, Sharad Pawar's politically estranged nephew who parted ways with him and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in July last year, was not yet known.
Chief Minister Shinde told reporters after the end of the budget session of the state legislature that he had conveyed to the senior Pawar that it wasn't possible for him to visit his home.
"We have a tight schedule (on Saturday) as after the Baramati event we have to go to Ahmedabad. I told him (Sharad Pawar) that next time on my Baramati visit, I would visit him," he said.
Shinde maintained that nothing much should be read into the Rajya Sabha MP's invite, adding, "If someone comes close to your home, you are bound to invite him over."
