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Journalism of Courage
Justifying her father’s decision to attend the programme in Pune where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be conferred the Lokmanya Tilak award, NCP leader and Baramati MP Supriya Sule said in a democracy, dialogue is important and therefore, she saw nothing wrong with NCP chief Sharad Pawar taking part in the event.
“In a democracy, dialogue is important….We are all for dialgoue in a democracy…democracy is supreme,” Sule told The Indian Express when asked about the call of NCP’s allies and activists, who have urged Pawar not to attend the event.
This year, the Lokmanya Tilak Trust has decided to confer the Lokmanya Tilak award–named after Bal Gangadhar Tilak–on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he will be in Pune to inaugurate a number of development projects. The award will be conferred on Tuesday (August 1), which will also mark the death anniversary of the freedom fighter.
Sule said the event has been organised by the Lokmanya Tilak Trust. “The trust is honouring the Prime Minister, not Pawar saheb. If Tilak family thinks it is appropriate to honour the Prime Minister, then I don’t see there is anything wrong in it. Anyways, he our country’s Prime Minister and not BJP Prime Minister. Maharashtra has always respected the post occuped by an individual.. Balasaheb Thackeray and my father often criticised each other. But Pawar saheb always attended the function organised by Balasaheb…. At the event, our Prime Minister will be honoured,” she said.
On the flip side, Sule said, “The Prime Minister said so many things about our party, even calling us corrupt…But it was the Prime Minister who presented Pawar saheb the Padmabhushan award.”
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde, who will also be attending the function, refused to comment. “I am attending the function in my capacity as the trustee..It is not a political function,” he said.
NCP’s Pune unit chief Prashant Jagtap said he met Pawar with the aim to convince him not to attend the function. “However, our party chief said he was attending an event where the country’s Prime Minister will be present and not attending a BJP rally. He said it was he who invited the Prime Minister on behalf of the trust,” said Jagtap.
