Last Updated: February 17, 2024, 13:02 IST
In Maharashtra’s Baramati, Sharad Pawar spoke on losing his party and symbol.
Sharad Pawar made the emotional statement in Baramati, the area which is in headlines as nephew Ajit is prepping to field his wife against senior Pawar’s daughter, Supriya Sule.
As the Nationalist Congress Party formally breaks before Lok Sabha elections, its founder, Sharad Pawar, on Saturday got emotional and said it has never happened before that those who formed a political party were removed from their own outfit.
“Not only this, the party symbol was also taken away. This decision was not in accordance with the law. The steps taken by the Election Commission and the President regarding party and symbol are not fair to us. We have approached the Supreme Court in this matter. We will need to increase our public outreach,” senior Pawar said in Baramati, the area which is now in headlines over nephew Ajit’s plans to field his wife against Sharad Pawar’s daughter, Supriya Sule.
Saturday marks the second day when Sharad Pawar spoke on the rift. Giving his first reaction on the issue, the leader said in Satara, “Out of the 14 elections I have contested so far, five of them had different symbols. First, there was a pair of oxen, then came the cow-calf, then came the ‘Charkha’ symbol, then came the hand symbol. And then came the watch. We have seen different signs. Therefore, if someone thinks that removing the symbol means that the organisation will cease to exist, this is not the case.”
Referring to the Bombay High Court’s decision of dismissing the “entirely without merit” petitions seeking Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the Dhangar (shepherd) community in Maharashtra, he said, “BJP should have taken steps to give reservation to the community.”
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