Sharad Pawar on Ajit Pawar rebellion: Five key points from the NCP chief presser

Here are the key points from his candid interaction:

Catalyst behind the rebellion

Sharad Pawar pointed out that the rebellion seemed to be catalyzed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent speech in which he made corruption allegations against the NCP and other parties. He mentioned that Modi’s statement, accusing the NCP of corruption and referring to the state cooperative bank and irrigation complaints, played a significant role in the turn of events.

“Two days back, the Prime Minister made a statement. That statement was against the NCP and the Congress. At that time, he mentioned two things. He said NCP was involved in corruption. While stating this, he also mentioned the state cooperative bank. He also referred to the complaint regarding irrigation… I am happy that his party has given space to some members of the NCP. It means there was no truth in the allegations that he made. He has freed all of them from the allegations that he made,” he said.

He said that ‘such rebellions’ weren’t new for him. “In 1980, the party I was leading had 58 MLAs but a month later all but six had left the party. But then I went out to the state and built the party and in the next elections it went to 69 and those who had left the party and those who had quit almost all of them lost barring 3-4,” he said.

He said that he doesn’t have any ill will for the rebels except for Sunil Tatkare and Praful Patel. “As the president of the party, I had appointed them as general secretary and national treasurer. My request to them is that they have violated the confidence that I had placed in them. They should have behaved responsibly,” said Pawar.

On Ajit Pawar’s Praise of PM Modi

Although he sidestepped most of the questions on Ajit Pawar, he responded to a question on his nephew’s comment that he liked PM Modi’s policies.

He said, “If he liked (Narendra Modi’s) policies then why was he against him for last four years. When we contested in 2019, who were we targeting? Modi! And who was he targeting? Us!  So what has changed now. He wanted to go there and he needed power. Perhaps this move is an impoact of Modi’s accusation levelled against us in the speech.

In his presser in Mumbai, Ajit Pawar had claimed that he resigned from the post of Leader of Opposition on Friday. When asked about this, Pawar said that he wasn’t aware about this. “The speaker appoints the LoP so the resignation might have been given to the speaker but I wasn’t made aware of this,” he said.

On Ajit Pawar’s public demand for the post of state president of the party, senior Pawar said that the decision on the issue including a change in the state leadership was to be taken in a meeting scheduled for July 6. “We were to discuss the topic, but before we could discuss, but some of them have taken the different stance before we could meet,” said Pawar.

Contact with rebel MLAs

Pawar said that some of the rebel leaders were in contact with him and a clear picure will emerge in a few days. “Some of the leaders whose names have emerged as backing the faction’s move have spoken to me but I want them to come out in public and clear their stance. Some of them called me. They told us that they were asked to sign on a paper and they did so out of compulsion. They have told that they don’t agree with what’s happening,” said Pawar.

“Of the nine who have been sworn in, no one except (Chhagan) Bhujbal have spoken to me. Bhujbal had told me that he does not agree with what was happening and he will go to the meeting and let me know what is happening. So later, I was informed that he has taken the oath,” said Pawar with a chuckle.

He said that the rebelled leaders have political contingencies in mind. “I haven’t tried to stop anyone. They are trying to contact me. They are worried about two things. Firstly, the constituency and the personal relations with the party workers. By going with the government, they might get done some of the works, they will get some help with the contesting the elections. But these things don’t decide the elections. It’s the public that decides and their support is the key. “

On role of central agencies

Pawar said that of the people who have joined the government — Chhagan Bhujbal, Hassan Mushrif, Dilip Walse Patil, Dhananjay Mundhe and Ajit Pawar — were facing the ‘ED problem’. “The agencies were taking actions against them. It will take some time before it emerges before public what was the ‘understanding’ between BJP and these leaders,” he said.

He said that after the PM’s statement, the anxiety about actions (by agencies) increased and it helped in those engineering the rebellion. “The credit will go the Prime Minister. The allegations, raids by agencies has caused this, that’s what it appears prima facie,” said Pawar.

Future of NCP

Pawar said that he wasn’t worried about the future of the party as claimed by his nephew Ajit Pawar and his associates who have joined the NDA government.

“I am not worried. Tomorrow I will head out, go to Karad and pay my respects to Yashwantrao Chavan’s memorial, address a meeting of the Dalit community. And then I will go to the state and the country, and share the party’s strategy and programme with the public,” said Pawar.

On the claim that the party belongs to the breakaway faction, he said, “I am not saying anything about the claim. I will go to people and they will decide whose party it is.”

He said the episode won’t have any impact on the national alliance of opposition parties. “We will be more aggressive in addressing all these issues. We will meet in Bangalore and future courses will be decided in that meeting,” he said.

He said that he will work to create a new team of young leaders for NCP. “I will create a new team of young leaders in future. It’s not about the first team and second team. In the upcoming elections a new team of NCP will emerge,” he said.