NCP's Sharad Pawar to undergo surgery for gall bladder issue on March 31

Veteran politician Sharad Pawar, whose Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is a constituent of the Maharashtra government, will undergo surgery for a gall bladder issue on March 31, a state minister said on Monday. The development comes amid a speculation the 80-year-old NCP chief had on Saturday held a secret meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

NCP’s Nawab Malik, a member of the Thackeray cabinet, said that the party president was feeling a little uneasy due to a pain in his abdomen on Sunday evening and was therefore, taken to Breach Candy Hospital for a check-up. “Upon diagnosis it came to light that he has a problem in his Gall Bladder,” he tweeted.

“He is on Blood Thinning Medication which is now being stopped due to this issue. He will be admitted to the hospital on the 31st of March 2021 and an Endoscopy and Surgery will be conducted. Hence all his programmes stand cancelled until further notice,” he added.

Pawar, a cancer survivor, had in 2004 undergone surgery for the disease.

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Reports of him being unwell comes a day after it was speculated that the former Union minister, who has also been Maharashtra’s chief minister, had met rival party’s Shah at a top industrialist’s residence in Ahmedabad on Saturday. The alleged meeting comes at a time when the Uddhav Thackeray government is facing a major crisis with NCP’s Anil Deshmukh facing corruption charges in the probe into the Amabni security scare case.

Malik has denied reports about any such meeting taking place in Ahmedabad, calling it an attempt to create confusion by spreading such rumours. However, Amit Shah, asked about it during a press conference on Sunday, gave a cryptic answer. He said everything cannot be made public.

(With inputs from agencies)