NCP today justified the sacking of Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Vijay Kumar Gavit after his daughter got a BJP ticket for Lok Sabha, saying that allowing a family member to join an opposition party despite a warning amounted to an anti-party act.
Upon NCP's recommendation, Gavit was sacked from the ministry two days ago.
State NCP president Bhaskar Jadhav told reporters here that Gavit had been asked to stop his daughter from joining BJP and contesting from Nandurbar against Congress veteran Manikrao Gavit.
"However, he did not do so, which proves that the move was deliberate. He has been given a show-cause notice and the decision to expel him from the party will be taken after we get his reply," Jadhav said.
When asked why NCP did not take any action against Gavit when his brother contested against the Congress candidate on Samajwadi Party ticket in 2009, and also against Datta Meghe, then with NCP, when his son Sagar joined BJP, Jadhav said the party needed to send out a strong message this time.
"Gavit's daughter, Hina, is unmarried, and stays with the father. She could not have taken the decision without the father's approval," Jadhav said.
When asked whether in NCP's view unmarried women cannot take decisions on their own, Jadhav said, "I did not mean to say that."
He also lashed out at the BJP leader Gopinath Munde for creating a divide between the Gavit father-daughter duo. "Because of Munde, Gavit's political career is in peril," he said.
