NCP Supremo Sharad Pawar is set to share the stage with Prime Minister Modi at a time when the opposition’s INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) is going against the NDA government with full force and demanding the Prime Minister’s statement on the Manipur issue in Parliament.
On August 1, the Lokmanya Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust will host an event in Pune where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will receive the Lokmanya Tilak National Award. The event will be attended by the former Union minister, who was the mastermind behind the opposition coalition Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra.
Ajit Pawar, the nephew of Sharad Pawar who left the Nationalist Congress Party and is currently the deputy chief minister in the BJP-led NDA government in Maharashtra, will also be on the stage.
The Shiv Sena of Uddhav Thackeray asks Sharad Pawar to rethink going to the function.
Shiv Sena (UT) MP Arvind Sawant said, “Tilak had given the slogan ‘Swaraj is my birthright’. But ‘is there Swaraj today?’ In today’s situation he (Pawar) should think… It is ‘swa – rajya’ instead – the rule of one person,” he said and added that Pawar should reconsider his decision.
“Leaders of their party (BJP) are destroying the Constitution of India, he (Pawar) should not go there,” he added.
Other opposition party INDIA leaders are also furious because they believe Sharad Pawar’s action will reflect poorly on the coalition as Uddhav Thackeray and the senior Pawar will host the opposition alliance’s third summit later this month.
Since the new opposition alliance’s name changed to INDIA, Prime Minister Modi has been unrelenting in his criticism. In order to mock the opposition’s decision to refer to their alliance as INDIA, the prime minister used instances of terrorist groups like the Indian Mujahideen. A number of Union ministers and tall BJP leaders have also been critisizing the opposition’s alliance.
However, Sharad Pawar’s plan to attend the occasion hasn’t changed as of yet.
Pawar will attend the award event, according to Rohit Tilak, vice-president of the Trust.
Ironically, members of Sharad Pawar’s INDIA party are organising a demonstration against the Prime Minister’s visit on Tuesday as he prepares to present the award to him. In various areas of the city, the Pune chapter of the Congress’ youth wing has posted signs that read “Go Back Modi” in opposition to the violence in Manipur.
In the meantime, Sharad Pawar stated at a book launch event on Sunday that if his party, the Congress, and Shiv Sena (UBT) desire to, they can bring about change in Maharashtra.
Pawar claimed it was challenging to cooperate with the current Maharashtra administration while speaking on stage alongside MVA allies Shiv Sena (UBT) chairman Uddhav Thackeray and senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat.
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