Kolhapur, May 2:
Just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘bhatakti atma’ (wandering soul) barb at NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and that too on the Maharashtra leader’s home turf, the veteran politician lambasted the PM for being a disgrace on the country’s premier post.
Modi on Monday had hit out at Sharad Pawar without taking his name, when he said: “There is a ‘bhatakti atma’ (wandering soul) in Maharashtra. If it does not manage success it spoils others’ good work. Maharashtra has been a victim of it.”
In reply on Thursday addressing a press conference here, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) chief did not mince words either as he said: “It is not surprising that Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses me as a ‘Bhatakti Aatma’, because the post of the country’s PM has never before been so disgraced as by Modi.” Pawar, 83, who started his political career in the 1950s, and has been four-time Maharashtra CM, besides being part of many governments at the Centre, said he had seen Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and then all the other PMs and heard their speeches at different occasions, but “when Modi used the “atrupta aatma” (insatiable soul) word, I couldn’t be less surprised because the position of PM has never been so disgraced by any other prime minister earlier”.
Pawar said PM Modi’s speeches were not based on facts. “Instead of speaking on basic issues that people are facing, he distracts voters with concocted issues. The PM is satisfied attacking me and Uddhav Thackeray,” he said.
Raising doubts about the Election Commission’s motive in slowing down the pace of revealing voting percentages of the first two phases, Pawar said there was no need for five-phase voting in Maharashtra. “Except to allow Modi more time to campaign… as those at the Centre are worried,” he said.
The NCP (SP) chief also lambasted Modi for attempting to create social tension, by alleging frequently at his rallies that if voted to power, the INDIA bloc would bring reservation based on religion.
“The concept of giving reservation on the basis of religion is not acceptable to us (the Opposition) and if Modi will try to give such reservation, then we all would oppose it,” he said.
On Modi’s criticism of the INDIA bloc saying if it were voted to power, there will be five prime minister in five years, Pawar reminded that in 1977, when Congress was defeated after agitation by Jayprakash Narayan, similar questions were raised but Morarji Desai was elected as prime minister after discussion by all opposition leaders so there will be no problem for the INDI Aghadi as well.
“We will take a decision after discussing with all alliance parties and this so-called feud of “who will be the PM” is more in the BJP’s head than ours,” he said.
Pawar also cautioned that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will show its true face to Shiv Sena (Shinde) and NCP(AP) if expected results after the election did not come.
