NCP President Sharad Pawar has slammed the state government for “escalating attacks" on women. Addressing a press conference at Pune on Thursday, Pawar expressed concern over the 4,434 girls missing from 14 districts of the state. Regarding recent riots in the state, the NCP leader alleged that they were orchestrated in Kolhapur, Sangamner, and other places with an eye on elections.
Commenting on the BJP's situation in various states, Pawar said that the party had lost power in many regions due to defections by MLAs. He cited specific incidents of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. He also expressed concern over ongoing riots in Manipur.
Not involved in Shikhar Bank: Pawar
Pawar refuted allegations regarding his involvement with the Shikhar Bank and clarified that he was not associated with any organisation or bank mentioned by Prime Minister Modi. He defended his daughter, MP Supriya Sule, against Modi's criticism, highlighting her electoral achievements and awards.
Claiming that the first meeting of the Opposition in Patna last week made Prime Minister Narendra Modi restless, the former chief minister of Maharashtra said the next meeting of anti-BJP opposition leaders will take place in Bengaluru on July 13 and 14.
He said reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies will be an important demand of the opposition. On the issue of Uniform Civil Code he said the minorities should be consulted before a decision is taken.
Fadnavis lost his wicket to Pawar's googly
Pawar, while refuting the charge levelled by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis that after agreeing to form a coalition government in 2019, he (Pawar) had backed out at the last moment, saying it was a deliberate move on his party. He said Fadnavis had lost his wicket with his googly.
“The BJP cannot survive without power. This was clear from the early swearing-in of the Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar government. It showed that the BJP will go with anyone to be in power. You may call it a trap laid by me or anything else. But this is what I wanted to prove (BJP's craze for power) and I succeeded in that,” he added.
Fadnavis accused Pawar of backing out
Fadnavis, at an interview on Wednesday, had accused Pawar of backing out at the last moment from forming government with the BJP in 2019. While reacting to questions over the issue at the press conference, Pawar said, “My father-in-law Sadu Shinde was famous for his googly bowling. He took many wickets of stalwarts in his lifetime. I too headed the cricket association for some time. Though I haven’t played cricket very much, I know when and how a googly is bowled. In the game it is important that you take the wicket. My googly showed the world what Fadnavis can do for power.”
