Pawar’s nephew refuses to accept award from Guv
MUMBAI: Rajendra Pawar, the nephew of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, refused to accept the state government’s Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Ratna Award from Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Monday.
Rajendra chose not to even attend the ceremony, where awards were given to farmers by the Governor in Nashik. His decision comes after Koshiyari made ‘objectionable statements’ against Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Jyotiba Phule.
“I would like to accept the award from the office of agriculture department instead of taking it from the Governor, who made statements without understanding the history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and disturbed the peace of the state,” Pawar said.
The award is being given by the state agriculture department to the people for their excellent work in the field of agriculture every year.
Rajendra is the son of Pawar’s elder brother Appasaheb Pawar and is the father of Rohit Pawar, NCP MLA from Karjat Jamkhed assembly constituency. He is the chairman of Agricultural Development Trust, Baramati, where the NCP chief is the president.
Raj Bhavan officials declined to comment on the issue.
In February, Governor Koshyari had kicked up a controversy as he said that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj would have been nothing without his guru, Samarth Ramdas.
“Who would have known Shivaji Maharaj without Samarth Ramdas,” Koshyari had said. In March, he found himself in a fresh controversy after he was captured on video mocking the child marriage of Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule. “Savitribai was married off at the age of 10 and her husband was 13-year-old at that time. Now, think about it, what must girls and boys be thinking after getting married,” Koshyari was heard saying in a video.
Apart from Koshyari, the award ceremony was attended by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, agriculture minister Dadaji Bhuse, revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat and chief minister Uddhav Thackeray too virtually attended.