PM Modi uses govt platforms to target Oppn, ex-PMs never did so: Sharad Pawar

Sharad Pawar. File Pic

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was using government platforms to target the Opposition, something never done by his predecessors.

Modi, who on Sunday inaugurated the Nagpur-Shirdi stretch of the Samruddhi Expressway, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences' MIHAN campus and the first phase of the metro rail in the second capital of Maharashtra, in his speech had slammed Opposition parties for pursuing "shortcut politics" that he said was detrimental to the country's economic health.

Pawar slammed the Prime Minister for his critical comments and referred to speeches of past premiers.

Speaking at a function where he was felicitated on turning 82, the NCP president said, "I have seen the speech of our prime minister at Nagpur, where he criticised the Opposition. I have seen the speeches of almost all the prime ministers, including our first PM Jawaharlal Nehru, in my life. Nehru and most other PMs never used government platforms to criticise the Opposition unlike the current prime minister."

The former Union minister questioned the rationale behind criticising the Opposition at government functions.

"The time has now come to wonder how wise it is to use a government platform to criticise the Opposition parties. Nehru, even during political campaigning, never used to criticise his opponents. He used to present his own policies and stand on various issues during campaigns," Pawar said.

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The veteran parliamentarian maintained the prime minister had "100 per cent" right to criticise the Opposition if he was speaking at a (Bharatiya Janata Party) party function or a poll rally.

Speaking on criticism that some parties opposed the construction of the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway, whose first phase was inaugurated on Sunday, the former Maharashtra CM said he doe not know anyone who resisted the mega project.

"Some persons have said the Samruddhi highway was opposed by some (in the Opposition). I did not know if anyone ever opposed to it. During my visit to Aurangabad in the past, a farmers' delegation had informed me of their disappointment over land acquisition compensation. I had informed the (then) CM asking him to ensure farmers get fair compensation," Pawar claimed.

Work on the 701-km expressway started when BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was Maharashtra CM between 2014-19. The newly-formed Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) assumed office in November 2019, but the three-party government collapsed in June this year due to a rebellion in the Shiv Sena after which Eknath Shinde took over as chief minister.