Launching a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday said he had not seen a PM like Mr. Modi who attacked Chief Ministers in so personal a manner.
Speaking in Solapur district’s Madha, where he was addressing a rally, the 82-year-old Mr. Pawar was scathing in his criticism of Mr. Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“He is the first PM I have seen who visits a State and launches personal attacks on its Chief Ministers. People do not like this. The BJP will have to pay the cost of such ad hominem attacks in electoral results…I have listened to the speeches of all the Prime Ministers from Jawaharlal Nehru to Indira Gandhi. But the way in which Narendra Modi criticises local Chief Ministers is utterly wrong. No Prime Minister has criticised like this before,” Mr. Pawar said.
“At this moment, I am nowhere. But do not worry about it. I am everywhere even if I am nowhere [meaning he had his pulse on everything]. When Union Home Minister Amit Shah came to Solapur, he said to me, ‘What does Sharad Pawar understand?’ But the people defeated their candidate. So, they understand what to do,” the NCP chief quipped.
Speaking to reporters later, Mr. Pawar clarified that there was nothing political about his recent meeting with nephew, Deputy Chief Minister and ‘rebel’ NCP leader Ajit Pawar. On Wednesday, the NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar along with his daughter and Member of Parliament, Supriya Sule, had attended bhau beej festivities at Ajit Pawar’s farmhouse in Baramati district’s Katewadi.
The NCP chief stressed that the Pawar clan had a longstanding tradition of coming together to celebrate Deepavali.
