Sharad Pawar attacks PM Narendra Modi; heaps applauds on Sonia Gandhi, Rahul

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for charging UPA executive Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi. He assaulted PM Modi for blaming the Gandhi family of ruining the country.

Pawar on Tuesday also praised Sonia and Rahul, saying people should respect them as they are working with a similar opinion of serving poor people. He said that ages of the Gandhi and the Nehru family have added to the country's development and have made sacrifices.

"Ages of Gandhi-Nehru family have added to nation's development and made sacrifices. If today, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are working with the same sentiment of serving the poor then we should regard them. In any case, PM Narendra Modi just says that one family destroyed the nation," said Pawar.

He said that people should feel "glad for them" as they continue to serve the poor regardless of the assassination of late prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

Launching a broadside at the ruling BJP, Pawar asserted the saffron outfit was setting networks against one another as it did nothing on the improvement front as was guaranteed to the people.

The NCP leader was talking at an event in Satara area, around 300km from Mumbai. He said a few legal advisors have raised questions if the 16 percent standard conceded to Marathas in employments and instruction in Maharashtra will stand the investigation of the law and said the legislature ought to guarantee the reservation supports.

Attacking Modi for targeting on the Gandhis, the Maratha strongman said the nation's first leader Jawaharlal Nehru invested a long time in prison amid the British guideline, while Indira Gandhi secured premiums of the poor when in power. "Such forfeit by a family. Indira Gandhi was executed. Rajiv Gandhi was murdered. We should feel pleased if Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi are proceeding to serve poor people despite these two killings. "Be that as it may, the leader just discussions around one family demolishing (the nation)," the previous Maharashtra chief minister told the gathering.

"You (Modi) were in power in Gujarat. Blameless people were killed there. What you did there? People were burnt but (you didn't do anything," included Pawar, who quit the Congress and framed the NCP in June 1999. He also brought up issues over the ongoing quittance of 22 blamed, a large portion of them policemen, in the alleged fake encounter killings of criminal Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his better half and a helper in Gujarat in 2005-06.

"What sort of state it is? Is it a state of the law? Is it an express that ensures the enthusiasm of the common people? The power is in the hands of such people," he said.

On the issue of Maratha reservation, Pawar said a few legal counselors have revealed to him that they had questions whether the portion law would stand legally. "I am not a legal advisor. I spoke to some lawyers I will definitely speak in the wake of returning to Mumbai and try to understand it (the issue)," he included.

On senior Congress leader D Y Patil joining the NCP, Pawar said the former had evinced interest in working with him. "Patil has been expressing interest for working with me for as far back as a half year. He said he didn't need any post and joined (the NCP)," the 78-year-old veteran parliamentarian included.