‘Nothing wrong in it’: Supriya Sule defends Sharad Pawar’s decision to share stage with PM Modi

Underlining that the Nationalist Congress Party and Maharashtra has traditionally honoured the position occupied by an individual, and not vice versa, party MP Supriya Sule said she saw nothing wrong with her father’s decision to attend a function in Pune where the Prime Minister will be conferred with the Lokmanya Tilak award.

“He is our country’s Prime Minister and not BJP’s Prime Minister. Maharashtra has always respected the post occupied by an individual.. Balasaheb Thackeray and my father often criticised each other. But Pawar saheb always attended the function organised by Balasaheb…. At the event, our Prime Minister will be honoured,” Sule said.

The Baramati MP further said that dialogue is important in a democracy amid calls from Opposition parties and activists, asking Pawar to reconsider his decision. “In a democracy, dialogue is important….We are all for dialgoue in a democracy…democracy is supreme,” Sule told The Indian Express.

The remarks came amid a controversy over Pawar’s decision to share the stage with PM Modi when Opposition parties are making attempts to corner the latter on the issue of Manipur. Pawar will attend the event where the PM will be conferred with the Lokmanya Tilak award, named after Bal Gangadhar Tilak, on his death anniversary.

Besides Pawar, Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde will also participate in the event in his capacity as a member of the Tilak family trust. “The trust is honouring the Prime Minister, not Pawar saheb. If Tilak family thinks it is appropriate to honour the Prime Minister, then I don’t see there is anything wrong in it,” Sule further said.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister arrived in Pune earlier today and offered prayers at the Dagduseth temple in the city. He is also scheduled to launch a slew of infrastructure projects in the city during his visit.

Opposition parties, joined by Manipur organisations, have launched a protest against the Prime Minister, questioning his silence on the Manipur issue and demanding that he issue a statement on the floor of the House.

NCP’s Pune unit chief Prashant Jagtap said he met Pawar with the aim to convince him not to attend the function. “However, our party chief said he was attending an event where the country’s Prime Minister will be present and not attending a BJP rally. He said it was he who invited the Prime Minister on behalf of the trust,” said Jagtap.