'Majority of common people in Pakistan want peace': Sharad Pawar

NCP chief Sharad Pawar while speaking to reporters on Thursday said that his personal experience has taught him that barring a few in power, the majority of common people in Pakistan want peace.

"My personal experience is that the common people of Pakistan are not our opponents. Those who want to do politics and keep control of power with the help of army favour conflict and hate. But majority of people (in Pakistan) want to create a peaceful atmosphere," Pawar said.

A day after the Maharashtra unit of the BJP tweeted an edited video of his speech and accused him of being a Hindu-hater, NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday said he was reading out lines from a poem which presents the pain of the labourer class, but those who wanted to spread misinformation were free to do so.

The @BJP4Maharashtra on Wednesday tweeted a short video of Pawar's speech in Satara and claimed that "atheist Sharad Pawar always hated Hindu religion" and he would not have achieved his political success without insulting Hindu gods and goddesses and indulging in casteism.

Some social media users pointed out that Pawar was quoting a poem by Jawahar Rathod which deals with the issue of casteism.

Speaking to reporters at Purandar in Pune on Thursday, Pawar explained that he was reading lines from Rathod's poem 'Patharvat' (Stone-cutter).

In the poem, the stone-cutter says he made the idols of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh using his chisel and these idols were installed in the temple, but the stone-cutters themselves were not allowed to step inside the temple because they are from a lower caste.

(With agency inputs)

ALSO READ

Kandivali residents cry for water