Sharad Pawar Hits Back At PM Modi's Jibe On His Tenure As Agri Minister

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi's jibe, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar today said that the PM should give statements keeping his constitutional stature in mind.

"Prime Minister's post is an important post. A PM should give a statement keeping his constitutional stature in mind. I don't know why he targeted me. But I think whatever he said is because of the fact that he was not briefed rightly. Whatever statement PM had made on me, I will respond to that keeping the importance and dignity of PM post," Sharad Pawar said while speaking at a press briefing in Mumbai.

Sharad Pawar served as the agriculture minister when the Congress-led UPA government was in office at the Centre (2004-14).

In a veiled attack on Sharad Pawar, who was the Agriculture Minister in the UPA government, PM Modi had said that while the BJP-led government was actively empowering farmers, some individuals in Maharashtra were engaged in political activities under the guise of representing farmers.

Sharad Pawar also claimed that the fear of losing power might have pushed the PM to make such comments.

"He (PM) was there to seek Darshan of Sai Baba in Shirdi, what was the need to take Darshan of Sharad Pawar there. If you see the nationwide picture, there are a lot of states where BJP is not in power or either their government has come after some sabotage in other parties. And wherever there is a BJP government, they are on weak foot. This weakness and fear of losing power may have forced him (PM) to make such statements," Mr Pawar added.

Further, the NCP supremo explained the crisis situation he faced during his 10-year tenure as the agriculture minister under the Congress regime.

"I want to make my stand clear on the statements made by PM Modi in Shirdi about my tenure as Agriculture Minister. I was Agriculture Minister for 10 years from 2004 to 2014. I had a crisis on the very first day of my tenure as Agri minister," Mr Pawar said.

He further said, "I had to sign a document for import of food grains for Public distribution system if that was not done on time our PDS distribution would have been stopped. Subsequently, I decided to increase minimum support price (MSP) of various crops, MSPs of some crops were increased manifold."

On the upcoming state assembly elections in various states, the NCP chief said that the situation is not in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"In assembly polls, I am seeing such a picture that BJP is not getting the desired support. I have not assessed for Lok Sabha polls yet. In the five assembly elections, I am seeing a picture against BJP. I can't say that everywhere governments will change," he said.

Sharad Pawar further accused the central government of "being completely confused" on the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

"Palestine and Ghaza issue is such an issue that I have not seen any confusion during our previous governments. Our government took a stand on the issue but after a few days, our foreign minister took a different stand. India's policy has always been to support Palestine and the shift in India's policy about the Palestine and Gaza issue now is something I have not seen till now. But this government is completely confused on this issue," he said.

Reacting to PM Modi's remarks on Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut earlier today launched a scathing attack and said "Does the PM suffer from amnesia".

Speaking at the press conference, Sanjay Raut said "What did Modi ji do? Pawar Saheb was Agriculture Minister for 10 years. He was not just an Agriculture Minister; he was an expert. He is known for the agricultural revolution. The seriousness of the agriculture sector is understood by the fact that you are forcing Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to face the assembly elections. Sharad Pawar has achieved this position on his own. Creating a PM care fund is not a big task, Sharad Pawar has helped people through hiS NGO."

Further, he targeted Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and said that he should have left the stage when the PM was speaking on Sharad Pawar.

He further said that the PM did not speak on anything when he visited Maharashtra recently because his aim was to come to Maharashtra and defame the state leader.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)