Sharad Pawar slams BJP, says ‘govt spreading lies about Pakistan for political gains’

Mumbai, Sep 15: After a visit to Pakistan, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday praised the neighbouring country for its hospitality and said that people in Pakistan are happy. He also claimed that the BJP government are spreading lies about them only for their political gains.

He also spoke about other issues such as revocation of Article 370 and mob lynching at a special event organised for minorities at NCP headquarters in Mumbai.

"I have visited Pakistan and received their hospitality...It is a misplaced fact that people in Pakistan are unhappy. However, the present government has been spreading lies about Pakistan for their own political benefits," Pawar was quoted by news agency as saying.

Pawar criticised the Modi-led government for revocation of Article 370, which had given special status to the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir.

"By scrapping Article 370, the government wants to convey that they are opposing a minority state and in the process, this action of theirs will lead to more terrorism in the Valley," Pawar noted.

Addressing a special event for minorities at NCP headquarters in Mumbai on Saturday, the veteran politician also talked about the recurrent issue at hand, mob lynching. "Feeling of brotherhood and communal harmony are imperative if the country is to be taken forward on the path of development. But those in power don't think about it," an official statement issued by the NCP quoted Pawar as saying.

Reinstating the significance of communal harmony for development, the NCP claimed, "Certain sections of society are being targeted. But action is not being taken against perpetrators."

He added that the term 'mob lynching' which was unheard of in the past is heard often in the present scenario. "But we get to hear this word often now. There is a need to come together against such incidents," Pawar asserted.

The NCP supremo also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for failing to visit the flood-affected areas of Maharashtra. Pawar stressed that both PM Modi and CM Fadnavis ignored their duty by not visiting flood-hit areas of the state.