Bid to dissuade Pawar from attending Modi event

As NCP supremo Sharad Pawar is set to attend an event that will honour Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an award, several Opposition parties, including his own have voiced their opinions against it saying it won’t look “appropriate.”

Pawar will attend an event in Pune on August 1, where PM Modi will be conferred the Lokmanya Tilak National Award organized by the Lokmanya Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust.

Pawar is set to be the chief guest of the ceremony and he will to confer the award to the prime minister.

For this, a delegation of political parties will meet Pawar on Sunday evening and persuade him to not go to the function. This is led by socialist leader Baba Adhav and will include NCP’s faction, Shiv Sena (UUBT), Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and CPI(M).

NCP’s Pune chief Prashant Jagtap said that an all-party delegation will be meeting Pawar to try and convince him and urge him to drop of the function.

The parties expressed concern that Pawar should not been seen with PM Modi at the time they are battling against his government on various issues including the situation in Manipur, according to the Hindu.

Congress also said that the end decision lies in the hands of Pawar, however it was very strong on its stand of the NCP patriarch not attending the event.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that at the time when PM Modi is calling INDIA all sorts of names, it does not look appropriate for Pawar to attend this particular event.

Pawar will not only share the stage with PM Modi, he will also confer the award on him during the function at the S P College grounds. The delegation led by socialist leader Baba Adhav that will meet Pawar will include leaders from the veteran leader’s NCP faction, the Congress, the Shiv Sena (UUBT), the Aam Aadmi Party, and the CPI(M).

Raut further highlighted that the BJP has not just divided the NCP, but described it as a corrupt party.

“If the NCP has suffered so much, then how can its party head felicitate the Prime Minister? By doing so, Pawar will be harming his own image and reputation. I think Pawar should avoid attending the function,” Pawar said, according to the Indian Express.