Pawar lashes at Fadnavis for accusing him of appeasement, caste politics

A day after his no holds barred attack, NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Friday lashed out at BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis for accusing him of playing appeasement politics in 14 tweets. “I am enjoying those tweets,” said Pawar, indicating that he does not care about Fadnavis’ criticism as he is more worried about the unity of the state, which is in danger and needs to be protected. Pawar spoke at Jalgaon after he was received by a large number of party leaders and workers.

“It is the tradition of Maharashtra to resolve issues amicably… Maharashtra should remain united,” he noted. “No matter what happens… there should be harmony among all religions, castes and languages,” he opined. On Fadnavis’ allegation that despite 12 bomb blasts in 1993, Pawar talked about a 13th blast, NCP chief admitted that he had made the announcement to ensure that the Hindus and Muslims remain united and should not get provoked, as it was revealed that the material used was from Pakistan with the involvement of external forces and not the locals. He recalled that Justice Srikrishna in the Commission’s report had hailed his announcement and said it helped avoid any communal tension in Mumbai.

Pawar said, “They accused me of racism and of caste and appeasement politics. Chhagan Bhujbal (an OBC) was the leader of the first state when the NCP was formed. Madhukar Pichad (from tribal community) was made NCP legislative party leader. After that Arun Gujarati was assembly speaker and Sunil Tatkare was made state unit chief. They were from various sections of the society. The party’s policy is not based on one caste. Therefore, I do not attach importance to Fadnavis’ criticism.” M inister Aaditya Thackeray said that loudspeakers should be used to create awareness among people about reasons behind rising prices of essential items.