Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Get together (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar Tuesday warmly greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and shared the stage with him at an occasion in Pune the place the latter was given the Lokmanya Tilak Nationwide Award — a improvement that has upset allies similar to Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).
Pawar, who is understood to have pleasant relations with Modi, shook the PM’s fingers and patted him on the again as the 2 leaders met on stage.
This was the primary time that the 2 leaders appeared on the identical dais following the cut up within the NCP final month when Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar, together with a clutch of MLAs, rebelled towards his uncle and joined Maharashtra’s ruling coalition of the BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who was additionally current on the operate, was seated solely 5 spots down the road from his uncle, with CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis sitting beside him.
Whereas Sharad Pawar didn’t make any direct political statements, he put forth sure points of the lives of Maratha warrior king Shivaji and freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak which are related to the opposition’s criticism of the BJP authorities.
The opposition regularly has accused the BJP authorities of being a one-man present centred round Modi and of utilizing its energy to repress the media.
The occasion comes at a time when opposition events throughout the nation try to construct a entrance — INDIA — towards the BJP-led Nationwide Democratic Alliance (NDA) forward of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Ally Shiv Sena (UBT) criticised Pawar’s determination to attend the occasion as chief visitor.
In its editorial in mouthpiece Saamana, the social gathering stated: “Sharad Pawar stated he was invited to attend the programme as chief visitor three months in the past, so he must attend. However, earlier than coming to Pune, the BJP broke the chief visitor’s social gathering and included a part of it inside itself. If Sharad Pawar had remained absent (on the Tilak award operate) to sentence this, then even the Sahyadri (mountain) would have praised his management and willpower”.
Sharad Pawar’s faction of the NCP, nevertheless, remained unperturbed by the criticism. Clyde Crasto, the faction’s spokesperson, stated his respect for the chief had risen manifolds by his determination to attend the occasion.
“He saved his promise to organisers of the Lokmanya Tilak Nationwide Award, attended the operate regardless of having to share the stage with individuals answerable for breaking our social gathering,” he stated.
The award is given by the Tilak Smarak Mandir Belief — a belief that’s presently run by Tilak’s descendants — on 1 August annually, to mark the dying anniversary of Tilak, one in every of India’s most celebrated freedom heroes. The award recognises a person’s contributions towards the nation.
Its previous recipients embody former prime ministers Indira Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and former presidents similar to Shankar Dayal Sharma and Pranab Mukherjee.
The Tilak Smarak Mandir Belief’s determination to confer the popularity on Modi this 12 months has been controversial, particularly in mild of the political affiliations of the belief members. Its vice-president, Rohit Tilak, is the Congress’s state normal secretary and the choice to confer the award on Modi has sparked an inside battle throughout the social gathering.
In the meantime, because the occasion was nonetheless on, opposition events held a black-flag protest towards Modi in Pune.
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Pawar congratulates Modi, PM invokes Tilak’s legacy
On the occasion, Sharad Pawar selected to deal with the historic significance of Pune because the land of Shivaji and Tilak, merely making veiled feedback in regards to the Modi authorities as an alternative of creating public statements in regards to the present political scenario.
In his speech, Pawar spoke about how, not like different kings and dynasties, Shivaji’s rule was not recognized by its household, Bhosale, however was recognized because the ‘Hindavi Swarajya’ and a kingdom of the individuals. He additionally made references to the 2016 ‘surgical strikes’ beneath the Modi authorities, saying that it was Shivaji who first applied the idea.
Whereas talking about Tilak, Pawar spoke about how he recognized journalism as “probably the most highly effective weapon” to battle the British and based two newspapers — Kesari and Mahratta. “Tilak used to say there shouldn’t be any stress on journalism and that journalism needs to be freed from interference,” he stated. Critics of the Modi authorities regularly level out that press freedom has declined beneath its regime.
Wrapping up his speech, Pawar stated: “Right now Tilak Smarak picked PM Modiji for the award. This award has been given to Indira Gandhi, Balasaheb Deoras, Manmohan Singh, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and lots of others, and on this checklist now Narendra Modi’s identify has been added and we’re all glad about it. And on behalf of all of us, I wish to congratulate him”.
In his personal speech, Modi spoke about Tilak’s work in his house state, Gujarat.
“In the course of the freedom battle for one and a half months he was in Ahmedabad Sabarmati jail. In 1916, Tilak got here to Ahmedabad and at the moment, greater than 40,000 individuals got here to welcome him, to take heed to him, and within the viewers there was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel,” Modi stated, including that the speech impressed Patel — India’s first house minister — to put in Tilak’s statue in Ahmedabad’s Victoria Backyard when he was on the helm of the Ahmedabad civic physique.
The PM additionally spoke about how India has moved “from a belief deficit to a belief surplus”, claiming {that a} survey had ranked India as among the many nations with probably the most religion within the authorities. “Public belief is turning into a medium of progress for the individuals of India,” he stated.
Later within the day, he flagged off two new Metro corridors in Pune.
“Totally different events have come collectively to rule Maharashtra solely as a result of we wish good work for Maharashtra, in order that the state can develop quicker,” he stated at that occasion.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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