Castigating Prime Minister Narendra Modi for commenting that the Nationalist Congress Party had “enslaved” the populace of Baramati, NCP leader and former Maharashtra Deputy Ajit Pawar said on Monday, adding that there was more democracy there than in any other constituency in the State.
“It is Mr. Modi who has hijacked the Bharatiya Janata Party, consigning older leaders into oblivion. Leaders of the BJP’s old guard like L. K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi never feature in campaign advertisements…only Mr. Modi himself,” Mr. Pawar said, speaking to reporters here on the last day of campaigning for the Assembly polls.
Implying that the BJP was a dictatorship, Mr. Pawar warned that the newer crop of leaders in the party would soon be acquainted with Mr. Modi’s strong-arm style of functioning.
Ajit Pawar, who is contesting from Baramati, said that Mr. Modi as PM was not vesting his post with the requisite dignity by indulging in personal attacks against his uncle, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, and himself.
“A disproportionate election campaign has been unleashed by the PM in a State at a time when the country’s borders are being threatened by Chinese incursions and skirmishes with Pakistan.”
Past Presidents had spoken with admiration about the ‘Baramati model’ of development, claimed Mr. Pawar, while censuring Mr. Modi for commenting that NCP leaders had bled the Ujani dam dry to develop Baramati, the Pawars’ stronghold.
To the Prime Minister’s biting comment of the NCP standing for a “naturally corrupt party”, Mr. Pawar said not a single accusation had been proved during his uncle’s 50-year career in politics.
“Before pointing fingers, Mr. Modi must remember that the scam-tainted B.S. Yeddyurappa was appointed as the BJP’s national vice-president and a number of cases are pending against Mr. Modi’s lieutenants in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots,” he remarked.
Commenting on the NCP’s breakup with the Congress in Maharashtra, Mr. Pawar said the decision was being misattributed to the NCP’s alleged intransigence.
“It is a faulty media perception that it was the NCP who refused to back down from its demand of 144 seats. I was already in talks with Congressman Ashok Chavan. The NCP was ready to settle for 135,” he said, holding former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan responsible for not willing to continue talks.
