PM Modi criticises Sharad Pawar on his work as agriculture minister

PM Narendra Modi/ File Photo

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi renewed his criticism of NCP leader Sharad Pawar, accusing him of failing to do enough for farmers while serving as Union Agriculture Minister.

Modi addressed a gathering in Malshiras, Solapur district, mentioning the challenges farmers experienced with sugarcane arrears during Pawar's tenure, the PTI report stated.

According to the news agency report, Modi accused Pawar of being responsible for Maharashtra's political instability, claiming that the state suffered as a result of the former minister's ambitions, which resulted in incomplete terms for multiple chief ministers.

"When a big Maharashtra leader was Union agriculture minister, farmers used to make rounds of sugarcane commission for their arrears," Modi said at a rally amid Lok Sabha Elections 2024 in Malshiras of Solapur district.

In a rally on Monday, hitting out at Sharad Pawar without naming him, PM Modi had said, "There is a 'bhatakti atma' (wandering soul) in Maharashtra. If it does not manage success it spoils others' good work. Maharashtra has been a victim of it. This game was started by the same leader 45 years ago. It was just for his own ambition that Maharashtra has always been an unstable state. As a result, several chief ministers could not complete their full term."

Reportedly, PM Modi encouraged voters not to spend their votes on parties such as the Congress and other opposition groupings that do not contest the required number of seats for a majority in the Lok Sabha.

The news agency report further stated that Modi emphasised the need of a strong government by comparing his administration's successes to the Congress's 60-year rule, highlighting his government's performance in pulling 25 crore people out of poverty and delivering free rations to 80 crore people.

PM Modi told voters, "Why waste your vote by giving it to those who are not contesting even the minimum number of seats needed for a simple majority in Lok Sabha."

The Prime Minister, per PTI report, asserted, "When there is a strong government in the country, its focus is on the present as well as the future."