Nationalist Congress Party lead Sunil Tatkare (left) NCP chief Sharad Pawar and NCP leader Praful Patel during the party’s 17th Foundation Day in Mumbai. (Photo: Rajesh Jadhav)
NCP chief Sharad Pawar has echoed Shiv Sena’s stand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is maligning India on foreign shores by criticising opposition parties of the country. “Never before has this happened in the past that the PM is denouncing his own country people outside,” he said.
Speaking at NCP’s 17th anniversary event on Friday, Mr Pawar said leaders like the PM and the president represent the country on foreign shores and while doing so they should look after the well being of the country.
“We have no qualms about Mr Modi touring foreign countries. But he should remember that he belongs to not just BJP, but the entire country. He keeps on criticising Congress and opposition leaders,” he said while addressing the gathering of party leaders and activists.
Mr Pawar’s statement is seen as an endorsement of Sena’s opinion that the PM’s public utterances on corruption in India during his foreign sojourns are bringing disrepute to the nation. The PM had publicly commented in Doha how India was steeped in graft. “This is nothing but maligning the country’s fair image abroad,” the Sena had said in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana.
The NCP supremo also said that the Modi wave in the country is on the wane. “Barring Assam, the BJP has lost in all other states. The people had given opportunity to BJP thinking that there might be some change. But they have now started realising their mistake. In Gujarat, which is Modi’s own state, the BJP lost in 80 per cent of Zilla Parishad elections. What happened in Gujarat can happen in other parts of the country too. The process has begun,” he said.
Mr Pawar said that in the last two years, agriculture production in the country has gone down. India was known as one of the major exporters, but export has also gone down, he said. This had led to reduction in industrial growth as well as employment. These should be considered as the major achievements of BJP in two years, he said sarcastically.
“While making foreign tours, the PM should also concentrate on home affairs. Several parts of Maharashtra are reeling under acute drought. People’s lives have been ruined. But the Centre and the state government have turned a blind eye towards their plight. Last year, 1,007 family heads have committed suicide in Marathwada. Due to negligence of the state government, people are migrating to big cities to earn livelihood,” he added.
