Responding to a media query on Tesla chief Elon Musk's comments against Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Pawar emphasised the seriousness of Trump's statement regarding potential financial contributions to India's elections
Pic/PTI
United States (US) President Donald Trump's recent statement about funds related to polls in India are very serious if they are true, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar said on Monday.
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He was responding to a media query on Tesla chief Elon Musk's comments against Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), reported news agency PTI.
"What I feel most serious is that Trump has made some contribution in our elections. If that statement is true, then it is very serious," Sharad Pawar told reporters.
The NCP (SP) chief also stressed the importance of ensuring clarity and transparency concerning any external interference in India's democratic processes, reported PTI.
The veteran leader's comments came following a statement from the Trump administration’s Department of Overseas Government Engagement (DOGE) on February 16, which revealed that United States Agency for International Development (USAID) had cancelled USD 21 million in funding for “voting in India”. This sparked a heated debate between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition parties, led by the Congress. Trump had claimed that the Joe Biden administration allocated USD 21 million to India to boost voter turnout.
Musk had, in June 2024, suggested on X that EVMs should be eliminated owing to the "risk of being hacked by humans or AI (artificial intelligence)". However, he acknowledged that the risk was low. His comment was in reaction to allegations of irregularities involving EVMs during Puerto Rico’s polls.
Maharashtra-Karnataka border row: Suspension of bus services affect people, says Sharad Pawar
Pawar also voiced concerns over the suspension of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus services to Karnataka, following an incident in Chitradurga, where pro-Kannada activists allegedly attacked a vehicle and its driver, Bhaskar Jadhav, on Friday night.
The Maharashtra government ordered the suspension of buses to Karnataka after the attack. On the same day, a conductor from Karnataka’s state-owned transport corporation was reportedly assaulted in Belagavi for not responding in Marathi to a girl. The incidents have escalated tensions between the two states, especially in the border areas, where Belagavi has a significant Marathi-speaking population that often demands the district’s merger with Maharashtra, a stance opposed by pro-Kannada activists.
"Such suspension of bus services should be avoided because it affects the common people. Such suspension causes inconvenience to the people," Pawar told reporters in Mumbai, PTI reported.
He also downplayed the political controversy that arose after he awarded the Mahadji Shinde award to Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde, at an event in Delhi recently.
"The Marathi-speaking people living in Delhi came together and constituted the Mahadji Shinde award. On the same day, it was given to Eknath Shinde. I was there, hence, I gave the award to Shinde. Apart from him, 14 other people were also felicitated at the same event but focus remained only on Shinde," he said.
The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), which is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi along with Pawar's party and the Congress, had expressed displeasure at the NCP (SP) chief giving the award to Shinde.
(With PTI inputs)
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