Sharad Pawar Proud Of Padma Vibhushan From Govt Of Someone He Sees As Putin: PM Modi

Days after Sharad Pawar equated him to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a dig at the Maharashtra politician.

In an interview with News18, PM Modi said, "He (Pawar) is proud of receiving the Padma Vibhushan from a government that is headed by someone he sees as Putin. This is a big contradiction."

The BJP-led NDA government had honoured Pawar with the said award in 2017. "Former defence minister late Mulayam Singh Yadav, ex-CM of Assam late Tarun Gogoi, former Lok Sabha Speaker late PA Sangma, ex-CM of Karnataka late SM Krishna ... were all from other parties but we gave them Padma awards for their contributions to their respective fields. We (BJP government) should be lauded for the thought behind such decisions, not questioned about the choice of recipients," he said.

However, the Prime Minister stated that he continues to respect Sharad Pawar despute his critical words.

"It does not matter whether people who have been in public life for long, are with or against us. I respect him a lot," he said.

Recently, Sharad Pawar said there was no difference between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin while accusing the former of slowly destroying democracy in the country

"Modi doesn't wish for anyone from the Opposition to get elected. Such a stance by the prime minister shows that there is no difference between him and Russia's Vladimir Putin," he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed NCP leader Sharad Pawar for bringing the in an era of political instability in Maharashtra 45 years ago.

While not explicitly mentioning Pawar, it was evident that the mention referred to the Maratha politician's defiance against then-chief minister Vasantdada Patil in 1978. With the support of 40 MLAs, Pawar established the Progressive Democratic Front, resulting in the downfall of the Patil-led government. At the age of 38, Pawar was sworn in as the Chief Minister on July 18, 1978.

"Some wandering souls started the era of political instability in Maharashtra 45 years ago," Modi said. "A big leader, for his personal ambition, began this game," he added.