NEW DELHI: NCP chief
Sharad Pawar on Sunday alleged that the letter with the plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being used to "garner people's sympathy."
Speaking at a function marking the 19th anniversary of the NCP as well as the culmination of the party's "hallabol" campaign, Pawar said the people would not fall prey to the BJP's attempts to generate sympathy.
"They say there was a threatening letter. I spoke to a retired police officer, who had worked for CID. He said there is no substance in the letter. The letter is being used to garner people's sympathy," the NCP leader said.
Claiming that the people arrested for inciting the Bhima -Koregaon violence were innocent, Pawar said, "When like-minded people came together to organise Elgar Parishad, they were called Naxalites and arrested. Everyone knows who executed the
Bhima-Koregaon violence, but those who have no link with it were arrested. This is misuse of power."
NCP stalwart Chhagan Bhujbal, who was released on bail last month in a money laundering case, also attended the event.
"The BJP has realised that they are losing the popular support. In order to gain sympathy, the BJP is now playing the threat letter card. However, I am sure that the people will not fall prey to such tactics," Pawar said.
Pawar also raised doubts about the veracity of the threat letter.
"I have spoken to a senior retired police officer who told me that when such letters come they do not go to media but to the security agencies which make sure that adequate security measures are taken," the former chief minister said.
He said the BJP's graph is going down across the country.
A string of rallies and protests were held under the NCP's 'Hallabol' campaign against the BJP-led Maharashtra government which was launched in Yeotmal in east Maharashtra last December.
Earlier this week, the Pune police told a court that they were in possession of a letter, seized from the residence of one of the five people who has been arrested in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon violence, which talked about the assassination of Prime Minister Modi in Rajiv Gandhi-type incident.
"Modi-led Hindu fascism is bulldozing its way into the lives of indigenous Adivasis. In spite of big defeats like Bihar and West Bengal, Modi has successfully established BJP government in more than 15 states. If this pace continues, then it would mean immense trouble for the party... Comrade Kisan and few other senior comrades have proposed concrete steps to end Modi-raj," the letter read.
"We are thinking along the lines of another Rajiv Gandhi type incident," it added.
In the letter, it was also written that for Maoists, "defeating Hindu fascism has been our core agenda and a major concern for the party". The assassination plot's revelation has generated reactions across the political spectrum.
(with inputs from agencies)
