Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena are in an alliance in Maharashtra
The Nationalist Congress Party has said its chief Sharad Pawar's comment that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi appeared to lack "consistency" needed to be accepted by the country as its leader was made as a "fatherly advice".
The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) along with the Shiv Sena are in an alliance, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), that runs Maharashtra, and Mr Pawar's comment was seen as inconvenient in some sections of the Congress.
NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase today said Mr Pawar's comment should be "considered as fatherly advice".
"Whatever Sharad Pawar saheb said in the interview with a news organisation should be considered as fatherly advice of a veteran leader. MVA is a government of all three parties. It was Sharad Pawar who criticised Barack Obama for commenting on Rahul Gandhi in his book. Pawar saheb had clearly said Obama must not comment on leaders of other countries," Mr Tapase said, news agency ANI reported.
When asked if the country was ready to accept Rahul Gandhi as the leader, at an event organised by Marathi newspaper Lokmat, Mr Pawar had said, "There are some questions in this regard. There seems to be less consistency."
Mr Pawar, however, took exception to former US President Barack Obama's unflattering comments about the Congress leader. Mr Obama, in his recently published memoir A Promised Land said that the Congress leader had "a nervous, unformed quality" and appeared to be like a student eager to impress the teacher but lacking aptitude and passion to master the subject.
Responding to the comment by the NCP chief, Maharashtra minister and Congress leader Yashomati Thakur had insisted the alliance partners stop commenting on the leadership of the Congress if they wanted a stable government in Maharashtra.
"Our leadership is very strong and stable. The formation of MVA is a result of our strong belief in democratic values... I must appeal colleagues in MVA if you want stable government in Maharashtra, then stop commenting on leadership of Congress. Everybody should follow basic rules of coalition," Mr Thakur tweeted today.