People of Maharashtra will not succumb to undemocratic forces, said veteran leader Sharad Pawar who reached Yashwant Chavan Samadhi in Karad amid a show of strength, where he addressed a public meeting and expressed confidence in people after a rift in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
“We set up a government led by Uddhav Thackeray. But some people overthrew it. And a government promoting communal forces came into being. Such efforts are being done elsewhere in the country too,” he said.
Sharad Pawar went on to say: “These tendencies shook the democratic government in Maharashtra while we opposed it. Unfortunately, a few of our colleagues fell prey to it. Nevertheless, the people of Maharashtra will not succumb to these forces. Soon, we will go on front of people. The tendencies that have damaged our values, democratic system will be taught a lesson. We will overcome.”
“We decided to reach out to people and decided to start it on a day of guru poornima,” he stated.
“Today, people are using caste and religion to create animosity among the people of Indians. Maharashtra promoted brotherhood but in recent days Kolhapur, Amalner, Sangamner witnessed communal violence which is not good for the state. But merely saying this won’t be enough. We need to stand against such tendencies,” he added.
On Sunday, then Leader of Opposition in Assembly and NCP leader Ajit Pawar formulated a split in the NCP by joining the Maharashtra government.
Ajit Pawar joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra – a post he will share with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis. Eight other NCP MLAs, including staunch Sharad Pawar loyalists like Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil, were also made ministers.
