PUNE: Sharad Pawar, the chief of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), has responded to a scathing attack by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who called him as the 'kingpin of corruption' during a Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) state convention in Pune on July 21, and accused the former Union minister of 'institutionalizing corruption.'

Hitting back Pawar said, "A few days ago, Home Minister Amit Shah attacked me, calling me the 'commander of all the corrupt people in the country.' Ironically, this is the same Home Minister who was expelled from Gujarat by the Supreme Court for misusing the state's law."

In 2010, BJP member Amit Shah was expelled from his home state for two years in connection with the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case but was acquitted in 2014. "The one who was banished is now the Home Minister. We need to consider the direction we are heading. Those currently leading the country are taking it down a wrong path, and if we don't pay attention, I'm 100% confident they will continue doing so," he reportedly added.

Attacking Pawar, Shah had said,"They (the opposition) talk about corruption, but the biggest kingpin of corruption in Indian politics is Sharad Pawar, without a doubt. What can they accuse us of now? If anyone has institutionalized corruption, it's you, Sharad Pawar."

Maharashtra goes to elections in October. The ruling alliance, Mahayuti, includes the BJP, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, and the NCP led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar (Sharad's nephew) which is the part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is challenged by the opposition bloc, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition consists of the Congress party, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), and NCP (Sharad Pawar).