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Awarding Traitors Dents Maharashtra's Identity: Raut On Pawar Felicitating Shinde

At a literary event in Delhi, Sharad Pawar bestowed the Mahadji Shinde National Gaurav Award to Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde which drew Raut's flak.

Sharad Pawar and Sanjay Raut.
Sharad Pawar and Sanjay Raut. (ETV Bharat)

By ETV Bharat English Team

Published : Feb 12, 2025, 1:23 PM IST

New Delhi: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut vented out his ire over Sharad Pawar presenting the Mahadji Shinde National Gaurav Award to Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at an event in Delhi on Tuesday.

"Pawar Saheb, we also know politics," Raut told reporters in Delhi. "Sharad Pawar did not felicitate Shinde but Amit Shah, who divided Maharashtra. Giving such an honour to traitors is a blow to the identity of Maharashtra. Pawar should not have gone to Shinde's program. The politics of the state is going in a strange direction. Shiv Sena developed Thane. Pawar has the wrong information about Thane. We have expressed our party's feelings about Pawar. There is no literary convention in Delhi but political brokerage. Now international brokers like Shinde are with Pawar Saheb," he added.

After awarding Shinde, Pawar, who attended the event on behalf of Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA), said, "Eknath Shinde is a leader who is aware of the civic issues of recent times. He worked to give the right direction as the head of the Thane and Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporations as well as the Chief Minister. He solved the problems of the state and the people by maintaining harmonious communication with leaders of all parties without limiting his thinking to his own party. His works will be recorded in the history of Maharashtra."

Shinde also showered praises on Pawar after he was honoured with the Mahadji Shinde Rashtra Gaurav Puraskar in the presence of Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on the occasion of the 98th Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan scheduled to be held here on February 21-23.

Taking a dig at the event organisers, Raut said, "I have a question for the literary convention organisers. What service are you doing to Marathi? Those who are putting their feet on the neck of Marathi are being felicitated. I have been invited to the literary conference. But, I will not attend it. If the organisers were short of money, they should have come to Maharashtra. They should have been paid through public subscription. The literary conference will be held at the hands of Prime Minister Modi. I will also write a letter to him."

Raut said Maharastra is being insulted in the national capital as bestowing awards on those who made the state suffer by making factions in parties is a blow to the state's identity.

"In politics, no one is a friend or enemy, that is fine. But, handing out awards to those who have made Maharashtra suffer, those whom we consider enemies of Maharashtra, is a blow to the state's identity. You honoured those who weakened Maharashtra by breaking the Shiv Sena. Maharashtra has suffered because of this. We understand your politics in Delhi. But, some things should have been avoided in politics. Your chat with Ajit Pawar may have been due to personal or family reasons. However, since he broke the nationalist party, we are taking steps to put aside our conscience," he said.

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