'If threats continue, I won’t spare anyone,' says Sharad Pawar
- EP News Service
- Mar 08, 2024
NCP-SP president Sharad Pawar addressing a rally
PUNE: Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar (NCP-SP) president Sharad Pawar rarely shows his temper and usually keeps his cool. However, he reacted sharply to the Ajit Pawar-led NCP’s Maval assembly constituency MLA Sunil Shelke’s alleged threats to his party members, asking them not to attend the Sharad Pawar-led party’s convention in Lonavala on Thursday. Pawar did not mince his words as he said, “Should such threats persist, let me tell you, I am Sharad Pawar and I won’t spare anyone.”
The senior leader, fighting against the rebels of the party he founded, retorted, “I would like to ask the MLA (Shelke), whose efforts led to your becoming an MLA? Who addressed the rallies in 2019, and who was the president of the party then? I had signed the AB form, and today, you are threatening those who worked for your victory.” Pawar has previously made allegations of intimidation towards his workers to switch sides but has not shown anger until now. This was the first time he spoke sternly.
After a day-long meeting with party workers in Pune on February 27, where the Baramati constituency was discussed, the veteran leader told the media about alleged threats to his party members by the opposition. He assured them of protection. Pawar also took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying it has become a “washing machine” which the people facing corruption charges can join to “get clean”.
The Ajit Pawar-led NCP chief spokesperson Umesh Patil has however refuted Sharad Pawar’s claim that the latter’s partymen faced threats in Baramati. “Why would our party workers issue threats? It is a political statement,” Umesh Patil said.
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