- Thursday, April 24, 2025
He slammed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for criticising the opposition meeting, questioning its concern and accusing it of a lack of ‘political maturity’.
By: Shubham Ghosh
Sharad Pawar, president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and one of the senior political figures in India, has clarified that the discussion during the recent meeting of opposition parties in Patna in the eastern state of Bihar did not revolve around the “prime ministerial post” for next year’s general elections.
Addressing reporters in Baramati, his former Lok Sabha constituency in the western state of Maharashtra, the 82-year-old Pawar said the talks mainly focused on crucial issues such as inflation, unemployment, and the deliberate promotion of communal forces in certain regions.
He slammed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for criticising the opposition meeting, questioning its concern and accusing it of a lack of “political maturity”. He questioned why the BJP was worried about the conclave, emphasising that the opposition parties had gathered to address pressing national issues.
During the meeting hosted by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, over 32 leaders from various opposition parties came together and pledged to confront the BJP as a united front in the 2024 national elections. They announced their intent to fight the polls with a common agenda and adaptable state-wise strategies, setting aside their differences.
Responding to opponents’ mockery of the gathering as a convergence of “19 prime ministerial post aspirants,” Pawar, a former chief minister of Maharashtra and defence minister of India, dismissed such claims as childish. He clarified that the discussion primarily focused on matters related to inflation, unemployment, and the deliberate encouragement of communal forces. Pawar emphasised that dividing communities based on religion and caste is detrimental to society, and the objective of the meeting was to address and mitigate such divisions.
Pawar expressed his frustration with the statements made by “so-called leaders” criticising the opposition meeting in Patna. He questioned why there should be any restriction in a democratic system on holding such meetings, highlighting the hypocrisy of the BJP. He mentioned an unnamed BJP state president who questioned the necessity of the opposition meeting while planning a meeting in Mumbai himself.
Pawar concluded by asking why the BJP was concerned when they themselves held similar gatherings.
(With agency inputs)
