New Delhi:The Congress is concerned over its ally NCP supremo Sharad Pawar handing over a private award to PM Narendra Modi in Maharashtra’s Pune on August 1 at a time when the opposition and the ruling BJP are locked in a bitter war of words.
According to Congress insiders, there are several reasons why Sharad Pawar should be angry with the BJP. The saffron party recently caused a split in the NCP, Sharad Pawar is a key member of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance which was ousted from power last year, and the Maratha veteran is playing an important role in the new opposition alliance INDIA which aims to take on PM Modi in the 2024 national polls.
A press statement, issued by Deepak Tilak, president of the trust awarding PM Modi, said: “The Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust (Hind Swaraj Sangh) will confer the Lokmanya Tilak National Award upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 1, the 103rd death anniversary of Lokmanya Tilak.”
NCP chief Sharad Pawar has been invited as chief guest. The award carries a memento and citation and is given in recognition of PM Modi's “supreme leadership and for awakening the feeling of patriotism among citizens”. Senior Pawar’s rebellious nephew Ajit Pawar, who is the deputy CM of Maharashtra, has also been invited to the event.
Incidentally, the Pune award function is taking place weeks before the third meeting of the INDIA alliance which will be hosted by Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray. “We are completely concerned about Mr Pawar. I am unable to understand what is going on in his mind. That concern is there, with or without this function. Suddenly, he has stopped fighting back. Has he surrendered or there is pressure on him, we don’t know? This award event has raised concerns within the party but it is for the high command to take a call on the matter,” a senior AICC functionary said.
Maharashtra Congress Working President Mohammad Arif Naseem Khan played down the presence of Sharad Pawar at the Pune award function where PM Modi will be honoured. “It is a private function organized by a private trust. I don’t want to comment on it. But it will not affect opposition unity. The MVA partners will attend the coming INDIA alliance meeting,” Khan told ETV Bharat.
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Congress insiders averred that the private trust in Pune has been run by persons close to the grand old party for decades and even has former union minister Sushil Kumar Shinde as one of the trustees. The insiders said that initially the trustees had sent an invitation to the PM but he was reluctant. Sharad Pawar was then allegedly roped in by the trustees and he managed to convince the PM to accept the award.
Former union minister and ex-Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said the PM looked desperate. “I have not seen any incumbent Prime Minister accepting an award from a private trust. It is something unheard of. What is the motive behind the PM accepting this award? Is he desperate for publicity? Is he so scared about losing Lok Sabha polls and Maharashtra,” Chavan told ETV Bharat.
According to sources, though the award might actually be given to the PM by one of the trustees, both Sharad Pawar and Sushil Kumar Shinde would have to be present at the event. Congress insiders wondered if someone from the private trust was trying to get a BJP ticket as the Pune Lok Sabha by-poll is pending. The parliamentary seat has been lying vacant since sitting member Girish Bapat passed away on May 29. The Election Commission is yet to take a call on holding the by-poll with the next Lok Sabha polls less than a year away.
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