NCP will never support BJP, claims Sharad Pawar

Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar has scotched rumours that his party is cosying up to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying it will never support the saffron party nor join hands with communal forces and compromise on secularism.

“There are rumours being spread that NCP is growing close to BJP. This is absolutely false news. NCP will never support BJP,” Mr Pawar said addressing a public meeting in Goa.

“We will never compromise on secularism. NCP will never be with the communal forces. Those who are favouring and spreading communalism, we will never be with them,” said Mr Pawar, who was recently honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second highest civilian award.

With Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray calling off his party’s two-decade-old alliance with BJP, speculation was rife that BJP could look to NCP to fill the crucial gap ahead of civic polls in Mumbai and other places in Maharashtra.

During a public meeting Sunday night, Mr Pawar slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the demonetisations decision, holding him responsible for generating unemployment in the unorganised sector and spelling doom for various sectors.

He accused Mr Modi of having taken the demonetisation decision to “misguide” and divert the attention of the people from his failure to bring back black money from abroad. “Mr Modi overnight terminated a lot of currency and within a day, the entire country was standing in queues outside banks,” Mr Pawar said. 

He also lambasted defence minister Manohar Parrikar for closing down the mining industry in Goa after he took over the reins in 2012 as CM. “People who were dependent on the mining industry were forced to face a bleak future with one decision of Parrikar,” Mr Pawar added.