Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his ‘bhatakti aatma‘ (wandering spirit) jibe at him during Lok Sabha election campaigning. Sharad Pawar referred to himself as a wandering spirit and said it will remain and never leave PM Modi.
Addressing a rally in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar (officially called Ahilya Nagar), Sharad Pawar, the chief of his faction of NCP, took a dig at PM Modi over forming a coalition government at the Centre.
“The people of the country did not give him (PM Modi) a majority. While forming the government, did he obtain the consent of the common people? He took help from the Chief Minister of Bihar (Nitish Kumar). During elections, wherever PM Modi went, he never used to say Bharat or Bharat sarkar (government). He used to say Modi sarkar and Modi ki guarantee,” he said.
“But the people showed (in elections) that they are with the INDIA bloc. He came here and said I am a wandering spirit. But this wandering spirit will always remain. It will never leave you,” he said.
In April, PM Modi made a veiled attack on Sharad Pawar, calling him a “wandering spirit” and blaming him for the political instability in Maharashtra.
Addressing a rally in Pune, PM Modi said, “A wandering spirit in Maharashtra led to instability 45 years ago and now the work of destabilising the country is being done by this person.”
Interestingly, PM Modi made these remarks at a rally in Pune in the presence of Sunetra Pawar, the wife of Maharashtra Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the nephew of Sharad Pawar. Sunetra Pawar lost from Baramati to her sister-in-law Supriya Sule in a prestige battle of the Pawar family.
At that time, Sharad Pawar responded saying he was indeed restless over the hardship faced by the farmers and the common man.
“It is correct that the soul is ‘asvastha‘ (restless) but not for the self but to highlight the hardships faced by farmers. I am restless to put forward the plight of the common man suffering from inflation. I am ready to be restless 100 times to highlight the woes of the people,” Sharad Pawar said.
Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar slammed PM Modi during the rally in Ahilya Nagar and said, “Minorities are a part of this country. In his speech, he said there is a belief that the wealth will be re-distributed in those houses where more children are born. By saying this, he mentioned minorities.”
“It was also said that if one loses their house, then the ‘mangalsutra’ of women will be snatched away. Should the Prime Minister discuss such things?” he added.
In April, PM Modi alleged that the Congress, if voted to power, would give the country’s wealth to “those who have children” and “infiltrators”, and that the ‘mangalsutra’ of women would be snatched away. The remarks sparked a controversy with the Opposition accusing the Prime Minister of lying and creating religious divisions between people.
