Veteran politician and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, in his speech from the YB Chavan auditorium, reaffirmed his faith in the power of people and said that though his party is not in power, it is among the people.
Pawar said that the NCP was born 24 years ago in Mumbai and worked hard to form the government.
As of now, 14 MLAs have shown up at the YB Chavan Centre in support of Sharad Pawar. Meanwhile, 29 MLAs have reached the Mumbai Education Trust in a show of strength for Ajit Pawar. In a surprise move, Independent MLA Devendra Bhuyar, a close aide of Ajit Pawar, reached the Y B Chavan center to meet Sharad Pawar.
“Many became MLAs, ministers and we showed that people from a poor background too can run the state. The aim was to work for the people of Maharashtra. We successfully did that with your help,” he said.
Stating that MLAs come and go, NCP chief Sharad Pawar told his party workers that they should work to create a new generation of leaders.
“I have worked in many Union governments. The norm was to hold talks if there are different viewpoints. The picture has changed. Communication is over,” he said.
“Even if we want to solve problems of the people, a lack of communication brings difficulty in doing so. It has led to discomfort in the society. On the other side, we decided to start the communication. The moment this happened, the ruling party became uncomfortable. The next meeting of the Opposition is in Bangalore,” he said.
He said that if tomorrow anyone stands up and claims to be the main party, it cannot be allowed.
‘If someone is claiming that they will take symbol, let me be clear that we will not allow it. However, I must tell you that I have fought on many symbols. Until you are in the hearts of people, symbols don’t matter. Have you seen posters and banners by people? My photo is the largest. That is because they know that they have nothing else to bank upon,’ Pawar said.
Sharad Pawar also asked why the BJP allied with the NCP if they thought the party si corrupt.
“PM Narendra Modi held a rally in Bhopal last week and accused the NCP of thousands of crore of corruption. If you really thought that NCP is a corrupt party, then why did you include the NCP in Sunday’s swearing in ceremony? It means that these people talk anything without evidence to create people’s opinion,” he said.
