Sharad Pawar to share stage with PM Modi for Pune Metro project

Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar will be sharing the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Pune on Saturday for laying the foundation stone of the city’s Metro rail. The NCP had threatened to perform the ceremony before the PM’s arrival if Mr Pawar was not invited.

However, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis intervened in the matter and invited Mr Pawar for the ceremony, after which the NCP withdrew its protest. Pune mayor Prashant Jagtap said that Mr Pawar would be attending the function with Mr Modi on Saturday. The NCP had threatened to conduct a function on Friday in Pune, which has been a stronghold of the party for years now. The NCP had alleged that the BJP was taking political advantage by laying the foundation stone of the Metro rail on its own. The project, in fact, was initiated by NCP leader Ajit Pawar when he was in power.

“I spoke to Pawar sahib and he told me that he would be attending the Metro rail ceremony. We have withdrawn our agitation that had been announced earlier,” NCP leader from Pune Ankush Kakde said.

The Sena had also taken a similar stand to boycott the Mumbai ceremony if their chief Uddhav Thackeray was not honoured. The CM intervened here as well, and convinced the Sena chief to attend the event by sending two of his ministers, Chandrakant Patil and Vinod Tawde, to Matoshree. Mr Pawar had earlier shared the dais with Mr Modi on a few occasions and their proximity is known in political circles. Mr Modi had even visited Baramati on Mr Pawar’s invitation and praised him for his contribution to politics.

Meanwhile, according to media reports, the Congress plans to inaugurate the Pune Metro on Dec. 23, a day before the official inauguration.