Eknath Khadse joins NCP – with a veiled warning to BJP

By QUAID NAJMI Mumbai, Oct 23 : Senior Maharashtra politician Eknath G. Khadse on Friday formally joined the Nationalist Congress Party with a veiled warning to the Bharatiya Janata Party, of whose he was a devoted and diligent member for four decades.
“If you have the ED, I will show you the CD..!” Khadse, 68, said in a lighter vein, but clearly alluding to the oft-repeated charges that the BJP lets loose central agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate, the Income Tax Department, and others to hound its political opponents.
In a similar tone, NCP state chief and Minister Jayant Patil, while lauding the former north Maharashtra strongman’s decision, said it will send a signal to the BJP that “Tiger Zinda Hai” and “picture abhi baaki hai”, hinting at more and many to come after Khadse.
NCP President Sharad Pawar warmly welcomed Khadse, saying “this is a happy day for the party” who built the BJP in the state for over 40 years.
“We have to strengthen the party in many areas… I am confident that Khadse’s long political experience will prove invaluable for us,” he said.
The NCP virtually laid out a red carpert welcome for Khadse, his daughter Rohini Khadse-Khevalkar and another 72 prominent supporters who joined the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi ally.