Sharad Pawar Snubs Saamana Edit, Says His Protege In NCP Proved Their Mettle

Sharad Pawar referred to the Congress and the NCP coming to power in Maharashtra in 1999 and how first-time inductee ministers from NCP proved their mettle.

Pawar also hit out at Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan over his reported statement calling NCP a "B team of BJP" in Karnataka, by questioning his stature in Indian National Congress.

PUNE: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday snubbed Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) over an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana and said leaders groomed by him had already proved their mettle in state politics and that everybody in NCP knows how to take the party forward. Pawar's comments came a day after an editorial in the Marathi publication said Pawar has failed to create a successor who could take his party forward.

The editorial was based on Pawar's recent decision to step down as NCP president, which he withdrew after three days after it caused consternation among party leaders and workers. Notably, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) is one of the three constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) along with the NCP and Congress.

"We do not attach any importance if someone is writing about whether we create new leadership or not. It is their prerogative (to write), but we ignore it. We know what we are doing, and we are satisfied with it," Pawar told reporters in Satara. "They ( Shiv Sena-UBT) do not know what we have done. It is our speciality that in NCP, we all work as colleagues and dwell upon various issues. At times, different opinions emerge (among us) but we do not go out and make them public. It is our family issue. Everybody in NCP knows how to take the party forward, and they know how the new leadership has been groomed in the party," he said.

Pawar referred to the Congress and the NCP coming to power in Maharashtra in 1999 and how first-time inductee ministers from NCP proved their mettle. "In that cabinet, Jayant Patil, Ajit Pawar, Dilip Walse Patil, R R Patil, and others became ministers from NCP. It was their first term in power. As far as I am concerned, I worked as a minister of state when I started, and after working as a junior minister, I was promoted. "But the names suggested by me were inducted as cabinet ministers at that time. And Maharashtra witnessed how NCP ministers proved themselves through their work," he said.

Responding to a query on whether the criticism by MVA constituents will affect the prospects of the tripartite coalition, Pawar replied in the negative. "This will not affect MVA as differences occur among allies. It is not the case in national politics that two allies will have a 100 per cent agreement on any issue. Sometimes, there is a difference of opinion, but we do not have any misunderstanding and it will not have any impact on MVA," he said.

Meanwhile, Pawar also hit out at Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan over his reported statement calling NCP a "B team of BJP" in Karnataka, by questioning his stature in Indian National Congress. "He (Chavan) should check his stature in his own party...Whether it is A, B, C or D. Any colleague from his party would tell you in private," the NCP chief said.

On the rationale behind fielding candidates in Karnataka polls, he said the NCP wanted to expand the party base beginning from Karnataka. "We did not hold any discussions with Congress or other allies in Karnataka because we wanted to start from scratch," he said. "The reason why we did not hold any discussions with the Congress was that the NCP wanted to start from scratch in the southern state. When there is an alliance with another party, it is imperative to provide strength to that party. But, as we were starting new, it was not possible to give the assurance that we would be able to provide strength if we go with them," he said.

Pawar said his party is contesting limited seats in Karnataka and ensuring that it will not adversely affect the Congress's prospects. Queried about slogans like "Bajrang Bali ki Jai" raised by PM Modi and other leaders during the campaigning for Karnataka polls, Pawar claimed seeking votes in the name of caste and religion is the breach of the oath an elected representative takes, as secularism and democracy are key words in the pledge.

"I am surprised that the country's prime minister projects such stand before the people. You (the government) should tell me what you have done in the last five years as you held power. Everywhere people talk about 40 per cent commission," he said targeting BJP. Notably, the Congress recently said the people of Karnataka will guarantee the end of the "BJP's 40 per cent commission sarkar on May 10, the polling day.