Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar today reprimanded the local leaders for voicing their opinion about the Congress-NCP alliance. The decision on alliances is taken by higher authorities — referring to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and NCP head Sharad Pawar — so, the local leaders had no authority to talk about whether the NCP maintained their hold in western Maharashtra or whether they want to go alone in the Assembly elections.

A day after the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) spokesperson Hussain Dalwai said that Congress workers were against the alliance, Pawar hit back saying some leaders were not eligible to get elected and they should not make such statements. “If they do not have the right to take the final decision, there is no reason why they should make these statements,” Pawar said at a function organised by the Dhankawadi wing of the party.

Pawar also said that it’s about time that Congress understands who their real opposition is. “Instead of making such statements they should target the BJP-Sena,’’ he said.