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Modi praises Pawar during ‘live’ conference at Baramati
The Prime Minister quipped that its interesting to see Pawar once again join the Congress-led alliance despite the party ill-treating him.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday once again mocked the Congress for being “parivarwadi” (dynastic) while referring to the “ill-treatment” meted out by the party to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar, who was once a senior leader in the Congress.
Modi’s remarks, during a live video interaction with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers from Pawar’s hometown, Baramati, came on the day Congress president Rahul Gandhi appointed his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the party in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Modi said that the Congress has repeatedly insulted Pawar who had always worked for the people.
“You know how the Congress treated the leader of Baramati. I personally regard him highly. He worked for the people for many years while in public life. As a senior Congress leader, he was insulted by the Congress party. His only mistake was to aspire for the Congress president’s post for which he was shown the doors. This can happen only in dynasty-based parties,” said Modi, referring to Pawar’s expulsion from the Congress in 1999 when he opposed Sonia Gandhi’s candidature as the Congress president.
The Prime Minister quipped that its interesting to see Pawar once again join the Congress-led alliance despite the party ill-treating him.
Modi’s praise for Pawar came at a time when the NCP president has been instrumental in shaping the grand alliance led by the Congress at the national level ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. This was not the first time that Modi praised Pawar. In November 2016, Prime Minister Modi had praised Pawar saying that it was the NCP chief who had hand-held him into politics.
Besides party workers from Baramati, the Prime Minister also interacted with booth workers from Gadchiroli, Hingoli, Nanded and Nandurbar as a part of the party’s strategy and programme ‘Mera booth sabse majboot’ (My booth, most powerful) to galvanise BJP cadres at the ground level.
He sought to differentiate the BJP from other parties by saying that decisions in the BJP were not based on the wishes of one person or one family. “We take decisions based on what the workers feel. While most parties in the country are family-ruled, in the case of the BJP, the party is the Parivar (family),” Modi said, while answering a party worker’s question on how the BJP is different from other political outfits.
Tributes to Thackeray
Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his interaction by offering tributes to late Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray. Modi said that the state government had approved ₹100 crore for Balasaheb’s memorial in Mumbai so that future generations will be inspired by his work.
