Even as the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar is busy rubbing shoulders with anti-Modi camp leaders to form a joint front against the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sprang a surprise by praising Pawar and reminding him of the ‘treatment’ Congress leadership gave him in the past.
PM Modi was addressing booth-level party workers from Baramati, Gadchiroli, Hingoli, Nanded and Nandurbar through video-conferencing on Wednesday. “At a personal level, I respect him (Pawar) as he has contributed to public life. He was insulted in the party for only the reason that he staked claim on the post of Congress President. It is amusing that the same Pawar saheb has joined the Congress camp,” said Modi.
Pawar was one of the senior most leaders of the Congress when he had jumped into the race for the party presidentship. “It seems that he (Pawar) was shown the door only for expressing his wish to hold the top position in the party. This happens only in parivarwadi party” said Modi.
Showering praises
Modi has been showering praises on Pawar in recent years. In 2016, when Modi came to Vasantdada Sugar Institute (VSI) in Manjari on an invitation from Pawar, he praised the NCP President as an “example” to others in public life. “I have personal respect for Pawar. I was the Gujarat Chief Minister that time. He helped me walk by holding my finger. I feel proud to pronounce this publicly,” he had stated.
Interestingly, Modi’s praise for the Maratha leader has baffled the party’s rank and file. Ahead of the Lok Sabha and the State Assembly polls, the State BJP is planning to launch an offensive against the NCP leadership, including Pawar’s nephew and former State deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who is accused of being involved in irrigation and other scams. Party workers also want to put up a strong candidate against Sharad Pawar’s daughter and sitting Baramati MP Supriya Sule.
‘BJP, most democratic party’
PM Narendra Modi without naming Nehru-Gandhi family said there are parties which were run by family members and for them their family is the party. “This is not the case with the BJP. We are a truly democratic party. Decisions are not made on the basis of what a family or a family member wants. We take a decision as per the wish of party workers” said Modi.