Sharad Pawar, the leader of the nationalist Congress party (NCP), spoke out on Wednesday on his “secret” meeting with his nephew Ajit, who led a mutiny within the party to defect to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena-BJP cabinet with the support of eight MLAs. Sharad Pawar claimed it was a family gathering when speaking at a press conference. The meeting took place in the midst of rumors that Sharad Pawar had been offered a position in the Union Cabinet of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre. Sharad Pawar has stated, “It was a family meeting with Ajit Pawar,” in regards to the meeting. I refrained from discussing the encounter with the media.
Political circles were buzzing after Sharad Pawar, the founder of the NCP, met his nephew Ajit Pawar, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, on August 12 at the home of industrialist Atul Chordiya in the Koregaon Park neighborhood. Supriya Sule, his daughter, has also responded to the inquiries on the meeting between Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar. Supriya Sule claimed she was unaware of what happened at the meeting between Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar last week at the home of a Pune businessman. “Even before my Dada (Ajit Pawar) was born, the Pawar and Chordiya families had a strong relationship because Mr. (Atul) Chordiya’s father and Pawar Saheb were classmates in college. Therefore, if both families meet, it shouldn’t come as a surprise,” stated Sule.
While criticizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sharad Pawar also discussed the situation in Manipur, claiming that he doesn’t appear to value the state in any way. It’s concerning how things are going in Manipur. The power of the nation is in the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies, Sharad Pawar stated, adding, “We wanted the Prime Minister to visit the Northeast once and instill confidence among the people there. However, this did not appear significant to the Prime Minister. In spite of having a duty to preserve social harmony, they are causing division.
