All like-minded parties must fight communal forces: Pawar

All like-minded parties must come together to resist attempts of creating a divide among the people of the country along communal lines, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar said on Sunday.

“Today, a communal atmosphere is being created in the country. It is Hindus vs Muslims, Dalits vs non-Dalits. Constant attempts are being made to divide them,” Pawar, who was addressing party workers and leaders in Amravati, said.

Taking a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre, the former Maharashtra chief minister said: “They (Centre) do not cooperate with states ruled by other parties, they create differences between states. If the Centre is going ahead with such a mindset, then it is our responsibility to come together, give candidature to like-minded parties and put up a tough fight against those who are trying to create communal issues between the people.” The NCP chief also claimed the BJP’s efforts to endorse a recent Hindi movie was a “conspiracy to create unease” across the country.

“Recently, a film was released. In that, it was shown how atrocities were committed against Hindus. When a minor community faces issues, and the majority community, which was then Muslims then, is shown to commit those atrocities, it creates unease in the country. It is a well-intended conspiracy to create unease,” he said.

Pawar was referring to the ‘The Kashmir Files’, a movie based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in the early 1990s.

“Those who are in power today made statements that people must watch this film. When people in power go in that direction (of communalising), it is even more concerning. The NCP will never support casteism and create a divide on religious lines. The NCP is ready to fight them,” Pawar said. The NCP chief held the BJP responsible for the attack on Kashmiri Pandits in the early 1990s.

“When these attacks on Kashmiri Pandits took place, V P Singh was the prime minister; the government was backed by

the BJP. The Congress was not in power; NCP was not even born. Despite a BJP-backed government at the Centre, these attacks happened. The responsibility lies with the BJP,” he said.

Pawar also claimed that a sudden protest by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation outside his residence on Friday was held as the employees were “misled”. The protesters had accused him of not doing anything to help them.