Protecting the corrupt agenda of Modi and team: Sharad Pawar

Protecting those involved in corruption and joining hands with them for the sake of power is the single-point agenda of the Narendra Modi government, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar (NCP-SP) leader Sharad Pawar said on Friday.

Addressing a rally in Jintur in Parbhani, some 200 km from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), Pawar cited a reported statement by state minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who is part of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, to buttress his claim.

"Bhujbal, when asked why he joined the ruling alliance, claimed he did not want to go to jail. (He said) if we do not want to go to jail, then we have to join Modi. If a senior minister is saying this, then it is clear power is being misused against the opposition. Fake offences are being registered so as to not allow opposition parties to function," he claimed.

"Protecting those involved in corruption and joining hands with them for power is the single point agenda of Modi and his team," Pawar alleged.

Bhujbal on Friday denied he joined the BJP-led ruling alliance in the state to avoid investigation by the Enforcement Directorate, and also said he had never made any such admission.

Bhujbal was part of the Ajit Pawar-led group that joined the Eknath Shinde government in July last year, leading to a split in the Sharad Pawar-founded party.

While the previous Congress-NCP government waived farmer loans to the tune of Rs 70,000 crore, the situation is such that soybean and cotton are not fetching remunerative prices and farmers are in trouble, the former Union agriculture minister said.

"Now, the Modi government has decided to not allow sugar export, which is part of its anti-farmer policy. If we want to oppose this decision, then we have to defeat those in power (Mahayuti). Atrocities against women have gone up. We have the example of Badlapur (sexual assault on two school girls). Earlier, MP Fauzia Khan said women are missing in the state," he told the gathering. The present government has no right to be in power when women are not respected and nor are they safe, Pawar added.

Speaking about the collapse of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Malvan in Sindhudurg (in August), Pawar said the incident was a clear case of corruption. "It was, however, claimed the statue fell due to winds. Then how come statues in Mumbai, located along the sea, are safe?" the opposition stalwart asked.

Maharashtra assembly polls will be held on 20 November, while results will be declared on 23 November. The fight is between the ruling alliance of the BJP, chief minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, and the Maha Vikas Aghadi comprising the NCP-SP, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress.