More than a week after rubbishing news reports about his “secret” meeting with BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in New Delhi on January 17, NCP chief Sharad Pawar has not only confirmed his meeting with the Gujarat Chief Minister, but has also justified the development, saying that his meeting Modi did not mean that he had met a Pakistani or a person from China.
Speaking at an inaugural function of a mini sports complex at Dhokali locality in the adjoining Thane district on Saturday night, Pawar hit out at the media for making a big fuss about his meeting Modi during a visit to Ahmedabad.
“...During my visits to various State capitals as a Union Minister, I meet the Chief Ministers of the respective States. If I go to West Bengal, I would meet Mamata Banerjee, when I am in Odisha, I would meet Navin Patnaik and If I go to Ahmedabad, I would meet Modi… Still when all newspapers speculated on the same day that I met Modi, I was surprised. I did not meet a Pakistani or a person from China... I consider meeting elected representatives in their respective States as my responsibility,” Pawar said.
Earlier on January 31, embarrassed by a report published in a leading Marathi newspaper loksatta that said Pawar had a 30-minute meeting with Modi on January 17 in New Delhi to discuss post-poll alliance in the event of a Congress debacle in the lok Sabha polls, the NCP had gone on an overdrive denying that its president had met the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate.
While Pawar had vehemently denied the news report through tweets, his party leaders Praful Patel, DP Tripathi and Maharashtra NCP chief Bhaskar Jadhav had separately contested the news report dubbing it as “mischievous” and “baseless”.
“News of my meeting with Narendra Modi in New Delhi on January 17 appeared in a newspaper is completely mischievous, baseless & false. During State visits or in Chief Ministers conferences in Delhi, I meet CM’s and barring these occasions, never met Modi in last one year,” Pawar had tweeted in couched words, from his twitter handle, Pawar Speaks.
In defence of the clarification given by Pawar on his meeting with Modi, Shiv Sena MP and spokesperson Sanjay Raut said on Sunday: “I think what Sharad Pawar has said the right thing. Sharad Pawar is a Union Minister and his meeting Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi shouldn’t be politicised.”
Airing a similar view, BJP leader Kirti Azad said, “I agree with Sharad Pawar’s statement. We’re all Indians so there is nothing wrong in meeting”.