Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday, June 10, praised former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, saying his sacrifices and contributions to nation-building cannot be forgotten, and said there can be no comparison between him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Speaking at the 27th foundation day of his party here, Pawar said PM Modi has become the longest serving PM, and a picture was being painted that there is no leader of his stature.
“Nehru’s contribution to nation-building and the freedom struggle cannot be forgotten and has to be respected,” Pawar said.
“He cannot be compared with anyone else. Nehru spent several years in jail during the freedom struggle under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi,” the former Union minister said.
Referring to PM Modi becoming the country’s longest-serving PM, Pawar said, “It’s good. In a parliamentary democracy, the prime minister is a constitutional post and we have to respect it. But Nehru is Nehru and Indians cannot forget his sacrifices.”
‘Those in power oblivious to struggles of citizens’
He said those in power are oblivious to the issues of farmers, educated unemployed and women.
“The country is grappling with several issues,” he said, adding that the country’s foreign policy was also not up to the mark.
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Pawar slammed Maharashtra minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Girish Mahajan for accusing former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi of committing atrocities against Sikhs.
“Such a statement is unacceptable. Operation Blue Star was a sacrifice by Indira Gandhi. Sikhs have worked for the country’s security on the borders and food security. Some people took a different path. Some things happened and cannot be forgotten. Indira Gandhi never compromised on the country’s prestige and security,” he said.
Mahajan sparked a political storm by calling Operation Blue Star a “black day” and equating the 1984 Army action to an invasion by Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali, following which opposition parties raised a demand for his sacking.
Terming Operation Blue Star a “military attack” on the Sikh community’s holy shrine, Mahajan alleged that then PM Indira Gandhi had forcibly sent the Army into Punjab and inside the sacred complex.
Referring to the front-page advertisements of the Sunetra Pawar-led NCP in leading newspapers, Pawar said it was for the first time that the party published advertisements in newspapers. “You all know what the cost of such ads is. Good that these ads have come now,” he said.
Pawar founded the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 1999. The party split in July 2023 after his nephew, late Ajit Pawar, rebelled and joined the Mahayuti government along with a large faction of MLAs.
The party name and symbol later went to the ruling faction led by Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash in January this year. Following his death, his wife Sunetra Pawar became the Deputy Chief Minister and was also elected to the post of party president.
While opposition NCP (SP) is celebrating its foundation day on Wednesday, the ruling NCP will celebrate it on Thursday.
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