Modi talks like BJP's PM, not India's: Sharad Pawar

Mumbai: NCP founder Sharad Pawar on Saturday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for talking like “BJP’s PM”. Taking a dig at Mr. Modi’s speeches in the election campaign, Mr. Pawar said that after listening to Mr. Modi, the conclusion can be drawn that he is talking like BJP’s Prime Minister.

“The Prime Minister belongs to the whole country. After listening to his speeches, one thing is very clear that he is not the Prime Minister of the country but of the BJP,” the veteran leader said.

The 83-year-old NCP founder was canvassing for the MVA candidates Chandrakant Khaire, who is contesting from the Aurangabad Lok Sabha constituency on a Uddhav Thackeray led Shiv Sena (UBT) ticket, and Congress’s Kalyan Kale from the Jalna seat.

Mr. Pawar said that the PM is only criticising him, Jawahar Lal Nehru and Rahul Gandhi, but is not informing people about his plans for the country. “Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru contributed a lot during the freedom struggle. By criticising Nehru, the incumbent Prime Minister is expressing his mentality,” he said.

The former Union agriculture minister slammed Mr. Modi for failing to control inflation and unemployment in the country. He referred to a report of ILO (International Labour Organisation) and stated that after completing higher education, 87 per cent of students did not get jobs.

“It means that 87 per cent of students are unemployed in the country,” Mr Pawar said. He was referring to the ILO report published last month, which said that more than 80 per cent cent of India’s unemployed workforce comprises its youth. The report said that that the proportion of young individuals with secondary or higher education among the total unemployed youth surged from 35.2 per cent in 2000 to 65.7 per cent in 2022.

Mr. Pawar further said that Maharashtra is witnessing a drought-like situation, there is no fodder for the cattles, but the ruling parties are not speaking about how to address this issue. The NCP leader alleged that Mr. Modi had promised to reduce the rate of inflation and cost of fuels within 50 days after coming to power but he failed to deliver. “Instead of slashing prices of LPG cylinders, he has doubled them. The women are facing hardship to manage household expenses. The Prime Minister and his government do not take any measures to curb the prices of the essential commodities,” he said.