If BJP moves Bill, Pawar will support it

He said the fact that the BJP did not do it, but included it in its manifesto (that the party would amend the Constitution for the purpose) showed that Vajpayee did not have the courage to do so or the party was not serious about the issue. ‘‘Let them show the courage to bring in a legislation, we’ll support it,’’ he said.

He reiterated that he had not given up his stand on opposing foreign-born persons from holding high offices, but had chosen to overlook it for the time being. He said the reason was that Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was not insisting on being the leader.

Pawar accused the BJP of double standards. The BJP says the stampede at Lucknow for collecting free sarees should not be made a political issue, he said, but the same party made the deaths of Gowari tribals in Nagpur a political issue.

Commenting on the controversy over James Laine’s book on Shivaji, he blamed the Shiv Sena chief for not asserting his views in front of Vajpayee while he unveiled a statue of Shivaji at Sahar airport. Vajpayee said the ban on the book by the Maharashtra government was not proper, but Thackeray did not express his views then, he added.