It is an ideological fight and not a family fight, Baramati MP and NCP (Sharad Pawar) working president Supriya Sule told journalists on Sunday, in response to queries over her sister-in-law Sunetra Pawar possibly being fielded against her in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
Ms. Sule asserted that there was no need to drag family relationships into politics. “It is a democracy, anyone can contest an election. How can this be a family fight? If someone has a strong candidate against me in Baramati, I am ready to talk to that candidate on their choice of topic, at any time and place.” Sunetra Pawar is the wife of Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
Ms. Sule said she wanted to highlight the issues of corruption and unemployment that have gripped the country. “Unemployment, inflation, the recent Paytm issue and the electoral bond scam, all these concerns are major issues. Those accused of corruption and convicted, they join the BJP and come out clean and for those who don’t, they will be summoned by the ED. Don’t you think there should be an enquiry into the corruption charges? These are not my words, these are by the Supreme Court and the RBI. I never make baseless accusations in the name of politics.”
Responding to remarks by Ajit Pawar who had taken a swipe at her for selfies in Parliament, Ms. Sule said, “It is Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has been busy promoting himself through selfie points at railway stations and airports. The Education Department has asked college students to take selfies with the PM’s picture. Union Minister Smriti Irani has set a target of taking one crore selfies with women. If the country’s Prime Minister is giving so much importance to selfies, then what is wrong if we do it?”
On Saturday, a van with a campaign banner displaying a picture of NCP president Ajit Pawar and his wife was seen in Baramati. The visual drew a lot of attention on social media.
