Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar on Friday (14 February) expressed dissatisfaction over his alliance government in the State of Maharashtra's decision to give consent to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to investigate the Elgar Parishad case, reports the Times of India.

Expressing displeasure over Chief Minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray's nod to handing over of the case to the NIA, Pawar said, "It was not proper for the Union Government to take over the investigation from the State Government in the first place, and it was not at all proper for the State Government to grant consent."

He, however, added that it was the CM's prerogative to take the decision, mentions the report.

Pawar has repeatedly demanded that a special investigation team headed by a senior officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS) be appointed to to investigate into the complaints against police and home department officers in connection with the Elgar Parishad case.

Meanwhile, discrediting Pawar's claim that the Union Government's move to take over the investigation was not proper, Maharashtra State's law and judiciary department has said that it was within the powers of the Union Government to take over the case.

In relations to Pawar’s comment Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe said, "The CM must have taken the decision in the larger interest of Maharashtra, one should not look for any political point. The CM must have applied his conscience while taking the decision."