Sharad Pawar attends iftar party with nephew Ajit amid rift rumour

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday attended an event with his nephew and former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday evening amid swirling rumours about his next political move. They were seen together at their party's annual Iftar party at Mumbai's Islam Gymkhana.

Speaking at an Iftar party organised by the NCP, Pawar said an atmosphere is being created that taking law into one's hands is the right thing to do but this bodes ill for the country. The NCP will never compromise on law and order and the ideals of the Constitution.

The veteran politician was apparently referring to politician-gangster's Atiq Ahmad's murder while in police custody in Uttar Pradesh, as reported by news agency PTI.

"When someone does something wrong in society, law has provisions to deal with such a person. But by not following the law and Constitution and taking law into one's hand...certain steps are taken. There is an attempt to create an atmosphere that this is the right thing to do, and this is not good for the country," Pawar said.

The event was attended by NCP leaders including MPs Supriya Sule, Fauzia Khan and Mohammed Faizal and former ministers Chhagan Bhujbal, Anil Deshmukh and Jitendra Awhad.

Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf were shot dead by three men posing as journalists while they were being escorted by police to a medical college in Prayagraj on Saturday night.

(with PTI inputs)