Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar on Wednesday visited the Congress office in Pune for the first time since exiting the grand old party 23 years ago. In an eyebrow-raising move, he said that there cannot be an India without Congress as its ideology and contribution cannot be ignored.
Pawar visited the Congress Bhavan to attend a programme organised on the occasion of the party’s foundation day. “Some people demand a ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’, but the country cannot be made Congress-free, it is not possible,” he said in a veiled jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Pawar further stated that despite there being differences about policies, he will “move ahead with the Congress party”, according to PTI.
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Remembering his initial days with Congress, Pawar who started his career as a young worker of the grand old party reminisced that he visited the Bhavan for the first time in 1958. He quit the party in 1999 and formed his own outfit though later he joined hands with his former side.
“Congress Bhavan in Pune was the centre of the party since India got independence. The administration of Maharashtra functioned from this building. From here, Congress leaders convinced (then prime minister) Jawaharlal Nehru through Indira Gandhi, and Samyukta Maharashtra (Maharashtra with Mumbai as its capital) was formed,” Pawar was quoted as saying by PTI.
The NCP president said that the current regime of the country defines “misuse of power” by probe agencies. He referred to the release of former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh, who spent more than a year behind bars, in a money laundering offence. Pawar also cited the example of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut’s arrest and subsequent release.
Pawar said he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah on this matter to prevent anyone from going through a similar situation in the future.
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