The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led central government over communal tensions in the country and alleged misuse of central investigation agencies. He also questioned the Centre’s decision to invite foreign leaders to “Gujarat alone”.
Addressing an NCP rally at Kolhapur in western Maharashtra, Pawar said, "I am glad that an international leader is visiting Gujarat. But whether it is then US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping or the latest visit of the UK Prime Minister (Boris Johnson), all were taken to Gujarat and not to any other states.
“It shows what the rulers in Delhi think about other states," he added.
Talking about the recent violence that broke out in the Jahangirpuri area of Delhi during a Hanuman Jayanti procession earlier this month, the NCP supremo said that the Union home minister Amit Sah failed to protect the national capital from communal riots. Highlighting that the Delhi Police comes under the Union home ministry, Pawar told the crowd "If anything happens in Delhi, the message goes out to the world. The world would imagine that there is unrest in Delhi," Pawar said.
"Amit Shah should have taken steps to keep Delhi unified and undivided, but he failed to do so. You have power, but you can not even handle a city like Delhi," he added.
{{/usCountry}}"Amit Shah should have taken steps to keep Delhi unified and undivided, but he failed to do so. You have power, but you can not even handle a city like Delhi," he added.
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He also targeted the central government over the arrests of NCP leaders Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik – both are facing money-laundering probes.
"First they charged former (Maharashtra) home minister Anil Deshmukh with taking ₹100 crore bribe, but later changed their statement to ₹four crore. Similarly, a 20-year-old case against (state minister) Nawab Malik was dug out selectively and he was framed up," the NCP chief alleged.
"If the Union government thinks that the NCP or other opposition parties can be muzzled with the help of ED or CBI, then they are living in a fool's paradise," he added.