Ajit Pawar asked me to accept his resignation immediately: Maharashtra Assembly Speaker

Confirming NCP leader Ajit Pawar's resignation as MLA from Baramati, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagade on Friday said that the former has asked him to accept his resignation immediately, without citing the reason for it.

"Pawar himself came to my office and met my personal assistant and submit his resignation around 5.30 pm in my Mumbai office. He called me over the phone and requested me to accept it immediately," Bagade said.

The Speaker said, when he questioned NCP leader on his sudden resignation, Pawar said that he "does not know the reason".

"When I asked him why are you tendering resignation and are you not contesting assembly election, he told me that I do not want to talk at present on this issue and I will tell you later," Bagade said. Ajit is a nephew of NCP chief Sharad Pawar.ED has registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar and others in connection with the Rs 5,000 crore Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank (MSCB) scam case.The development comes ahead of Assembly elections in Maharashtra, scheduled to take place on October 21 and results will be announced on October 24.