NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying it has become a “washing machine”, which the people facing corruption charges can join to “get clean”.
He accused the Centre of targeting the chief ministers of non BJP-ruled states, including former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.
Mr. Pawar also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over various issues, including his criticism of the country’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Addressing a convention of the workers of his Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) at Lonavala in Pune district, Mr. Pawar said, “PM Narendra Modi, while talking about corruption, used to criticise the undivided NCP. In Parliament, a booklet was given to everyone which said what irregularities occurred when the BJP was not in power.” “The booklet mentioned the Adarsh scam and the alleged involvement of Ashok Chavan in the scam. But on the seventh day, Chavan joined the BJP and became its Rajya Sabha member…So on the one hand, you (BJP) make allegations, while on the other, you induct that person into your party,” he said.
Earlier, PM Modi talked about the “corrupt” people in the NCP.
“He talked about an irrigation scam worth ₹70,000 crore in Maharashtra. He also talked about irregularities in the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank. I had then said that nobody from the NCP was involved in any irregularities in MSC Bank and dared them to conduct an inquiry by appointing a Supreme Court judge. Now see where that person is today against whom the allegations were made in this scam,” he said without mentioning Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s name.
“All this shows that the BJP has become a washing machine, which those who are facing allegations of corruption can join and get clean,” the former Union minister alleged.
Ajit Pawar rebelled against Sharad Pawar and joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government in July last year along with several other NCP leaders, thereby triggering a split in the party founded by the senior Pawar in 1999. The Election Commission allotted the party name NCP and its symbol ‘clock’ to the Ajit Pawar-led faction.
Mr. Pawar further said, “We formed the NCP and remained steadfast to the ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Today, those in power speak highly of Mahatma Gandhi but denigrate Nehru.” Just as those who fought for the country’s freedom and made sacrifices accepted Mahatma Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose’s leadership, they also accepted Nehru’s leadership and his contributions, he added.
“However, the prime minister today criticises Nehru and his ideology the most. If you go through the newspapers, you will find full-page advertisements on ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’. If one considers whose money is being used to publish these advertisements, the answer is that it is people’s money,” he added.
Mr. Pawar alleged that PM Modi promised to double the farmers’ income, but in the last decade the number of farmers’ suicide has increased significantly.
“During his speech in West Bengal, PM Modi criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was an MP for 25 years and a Union minister for 5 years, and has been the CM of the state for the last 10 years. Today, people repeatedly vote for her and give the reins of the state to her. The PM should be proud of her, but he criticises her instead. This does not fit within the framework of parliamentary democracy,” he said.
Meanwhile, there are allegations against NCP MLA from Pune’s Maval assembly constituency, Sunil Shelke, that he was threatening leaders of Sharad Pawar-led group and asking them not to attend the the party’s convention in Lonavala. Mr. Shelke belongs to the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
Talking about it, Mr. Pawar said, “I would like to ask the MLA – whose efforts led to your becoming an MLA? Who addressed the rallies in 2019, and who was the president of the party then? I had signed the AB form, and today you are threatening those who worked for your victory. If they continue to threaten my party workers, they will have to face me.” Responding to the NCP founder’s remarks, Mr. Shelke said, “Pawar should have verified the allegations against me before making the remarks. I will meet him in the next eight days and ask who has given wrong information about me.” “I am very sure that some people deliberately provided wrong information about me that I am threatening party office-bearers and workers, asking them not to attend the convention in Lonavala,” he said.
Meanwhile, more than a 100 office-bearers and workers, said to be supporters of Mr. Shelke, joined the NCP (SP) at the Lonavala convention. However, the MLA said nobody from his side has joined the Sharad Pawar-led group.
