Voters of Maharashtra will take care of cowards who quit the party, said Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Sunday. He was addressing a rally in Navi Mumbai, days after the NCP’s strongman in the region, Ganesh Naik, and party MP from Satara, Udayanraje Bhosale, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Mr. Pawar said, “The rulers of today are busy only in targeting the Opposition, which means they have nothing to offer. We need to be vigilant, but do not bother if someone leaves. This State belongs to people with self-respect. People here don’t compromise with that. When people in Maharashtra will come out to vote, they will take care of those cowards who accepted humiliation from Delhi.”
Mr. Pawar’s attack is seen as a direct message to Mr. Bhosale who happens to be the descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He went to Delhi on Saturday to meet BJP president Amit Shah and join the BJP.
Commenting on Mr. Naik’s departure, the NCP chief said common people express their anger when the time comes. “I need not comment about Navi Mumbai. People are capable. Manda Mhatre won because of Mr. Naik’s fault. We thought that he would correct his mistakes, but still he has chosen to go on the wrong path.”
Taunting his former colleagues who have been claiming that they switched the party for the sake of development of their respective regions and therefore wanted to be with the ruling side, Mr. Pawar said in his 52 years of legislative career, he has been in Opposition for 27 years. “But I never faced a single problem while working. Rather I could work more when in Opposition.”
He said this is not the time to sit close to rulers who brought the worse condition for agriculture. “This is the time to fight those who failed to create jobs.”
Slamming Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for neglecting western Maharashtra at the time of floods, Mr. Pawar said the CM was busy organising Mahajanadesh Yatra. “He went there after floods for a few hours, but later did not even bother to check.”