NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Saturday said that the reference to the state of emergency made by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in his speech was not appropriate and did not befit the status of his office, news agency PTI reported.
Addressing reporters in Kolhapur, Sharad Pawar also said that the concessions announced in the budget presented by his estranged nephew and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday were just an effort ahead of the state assembly elections to project that they are doing something massive, PTI reported.
Soon after his election as Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla on Wednesday unleashed a storm by reading out a resolution condemning the imposition of Emergency as an attack on the Constitution by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Referring to this, Pawar said, “The speaker’s reference to the Emergency in his speech was not befitting of the office. It has been 50 years since the Emergency, Indira Gandhi is no more alive. So why is the speaker bringing this issue now?” PTI reported.
“Is it the role of the Speaker to make a political statement? We believe his statement was not appropriate. The Speaker’s speech also briefly mentioned this issue. That was also not necessary,” he said, PTI reported.
On the assumption of Rahul Gandhi as leader of the opposition, Pawar said that the party with the largest number of MPs in the opposition is the one that decides who is the leader of the opposition.
“Congress MPs have decided to appoint Rahul Gandhi as their leader. In a way, he is a representative of the new generation with experience in politics and willingness to put in a lot of effort. I am sure he will shine,” he said, as reported by PTI.
Pawar attacked the BJP and said that before making statements about Congress-mukt Bharat, the BJP should take note of how many seats it had before the Lok Sabha elections and how many it has after these elections.
“The BJP does not have a majority in Parliament. Without Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu, they would not have formed the government. No matter how hard they try to hide it, the truth is clear that they do not have a clear mandate from the people of India,” the veteran leader said, according to PTI.
About the state budget, he said: “What kind of budget was this? Free education for girls, Rs 20,000 for each `dindi` (group) of the Pandharpur wari (pilgrimage); everything was made public before it was presented in the Vidhan Bhavan has two meanings: the tradition of keeping the budget secret has not been maintained and none of the provisions presented in the budget will see the light of day, PTI reported.
This budget has been presented keeping in mind the assembly elections scheduled for 3 months. There is no budget provision for the promises made in the budget. How can I spend 100 rupees when I have 70 rupees in my pocket? “This budget is just meant to show that we are doing something huge, but I’m sure people won’t believe it,” he asked.
“The questions the government has to answer are: what revenue has it raised; how much does it want to spend and how will it cover the gap between the two? How can the government promise to implement the guarantee without making provisions to cover this gap? This budget does not It has a lot of meaning. I have doubts to what extent they will be able to implement this budget,” he said, PTI reported.
Commenting on speculations about the return of MPs from Ajit Pawar’s faction to his party, Pawar said, “(State party unit chief) Jayant Patil and others are aware of this, I have not met anyone in person. Let us see who comes. Do you have a list of names?” PTI reported.
Pawar said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi held rallies in 18 constituencies (in Maharashtra) during the Lok Sabha election campaign and in 14 of these constituencies, the Mahayuti candidate lost the elections.
“I would like to request Modi ji to address as many rallies as possible in the upcoming assembly elections,” he said, PTI reported.
Talking about the MVA’s preparations for the assembly elections, Pawar said the allies will take all decisions through consultations.
“The parties that supported us in the Lok Sabha elections as part of the INDIA bloc, such as the PWP and the AAP, will be included in the MVA,” he said, PTI reported.
When asked about the MVA’s prospects, he said: In the Lok Sabha elections, the MVA was leading in 155 of the 288 Vidhan Sabha seats in Maharashtra.
“If this continues in the Assembly elections, it is obvious that we will form the next government,” he said, according to PTI.
He attacked the BJP for “misusing” central investigation agencies against political opponents.
“The chief ministers of two states are imprisoned, one of which was released yesterday. Then the MPs or legislators or ministers of West Bengal are imprisoned. When the lower courts pass judgments against one, those decisions are appealed immediately and leaders are being imprisoned again. It is clear that the agencies are being manipulated and deliberately misused,” he denounced, as reported by PTI.
Speaking about the Delhi airport roof collapse incident, the former Union minister said that projects are completed in a hurry, without checking the quality of work.
“With the elections in mind, projects have been announced, inaugurated and opened for public use. This is a direct result of that trend,” he said.
(with input from PTI)
