Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar was on Wednesday unanimously re-elected as the president of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and used the occasion to launch a broadside against Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of indulging in game of politics on foreign soil. 74-year-old Pawar’s re-election was declared by NCP general secretary TP Peetambhar Master at the party’s sixth national convention here. Pawar’s nephew and NCP legislature party leader Ajit Pawar was conspicuous by his absence.
Pawar has held the post ever since he founded the party in 1999 after parting ways with Congress. Attacking Modi, he said, “Indulging in the game of politics on foreign soil is a serious issue and in doing so, the country’s image had taken a beating.” Modi had hit back at the opposition over its criticism about his frequent foreign visits, saying he was being attacked for “tireless” work and had asserted that if it was a “crime” he would continue to do it. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also taken potshots at previous Governments which practiced ‘look East’ policy, saying India has had enough of it and it’s time to ‘Act East’. Pawar also lashed out at the Modi government for using all means at its disposal to implement its “saffron” agenda and ideology.