Pawar attempts to assuage concern of Brahmin outfits
NCP chief assures them that no party leaders will talk about caste or religion anymore
MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar sought to draw the curtain over the Brahmin versus non-brahmin controversy in Maharashtra on Saturday and assured that no leader from his party would make comments against any caste or religion.
The assurances were made in a meeting with various Brahmin outfits.
The move to pacify the community assumes significance in the backdrop of local body elections. Around 40 representatives from 10 outfits attended the meeting called by Pawar at Nisarg Mangal Karyalaya, Gultekdi in Pune.
“The first issue raised by the representatives was that there is unrest among the Brahmin community over the statements made by a few NCP leaders. I told them that it was already discussed in the party forum and all the leaders have been asked not to make any statement against any caste and religion and talk only about policy decisions,” Pawar told reporters after the meeting.
He further added, “Responsible people from responsible parties should intervene to clear misunderstandings of a community if it is creating any sort of unrest. They also should ensure that it will not be repeated.”
The NCP chief said that the representatives demanded the formation of an independent finance corporation dedicated to the Brahmin community to get a loan for setting up business on low interest rates. “I asked them to make a request with the chief minister in this regard and organise a meeting, where he will consider the demands that are reasonable in nature,” Pawar said.
After attending the meeting with Pawar, Dr Govind Kulkarni of Akhil Bhartiya Brahman Mahasangh (ABBM) said, “We demanded a finance corporation that has been formed in five states such as Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Punjab. He has agreed to organise a meeting with the chief minister.”
Further, the NCP clarified that they have decided to support Shiv Sena candidate in the Rajya Sabha polls that are slated to be held for six seats from Maharashtra on June 10. Pawar said that they have decided to keep up the promise made to the chief minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray.
“As far as NCP is concerned, we have decided to contest one seat that we can win on our own,” said Pawar. He added that Shiv Sena and NCP have enough votes to get elected.