Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) supremo Sharad Pawar on Monday said that there was no need for Shiv Sena leader Neelam Gorhe to make a controversial statement from the dias of the 98th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahiyta Sammelan (literary meet) held in New Delhi.
The comments by Pawar came after Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasahab Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut hit out at the former Union Minister for not taking a stand on the issue.
"Debates happen when there is a literary conference. Marathi citizens from all over the country had come to the literary conference in Delhi," Pawar told reporters here.
Neelam Gorhe, who is the Deputy Chairperson of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, had made serious allegations against Uddhav Thackeray during a session of the recently held Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan. The opposition alleged that the literary conference was being used politically.
"Neelam Gorhe should not have made that comment from that platform. Sanjay Raut is 100 per cent right on this matter. There was no need to say unnecessary things. Neelam Gorhe worked with Prakash Ambedkar. Then she joined the Nationalist Congress Party. Later she joined Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena. Now she is working under (Eknath) Shinde's leadership. She changed four parties in such a limited period. Considering her own experience, she should not have made such a comment," said Pawar, who hails from Baramati.
Pawar was the Honorary President of the 98th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan. The former Maharashtra Chief Minister said, "If they have put some responsibility on me since I was Honourary President, I accept it."
"The office bearers of the Sahitya Sammelan have apologised. That's why I said, close the curtain. If Sanjay Raut wants to put the responsibility on me too, I have no complaint because I was the honourary President. I have no complaint against Sanjay Raut. Neelam Gorhe's statement was stupid. I will not say anything more than this," added Pawar, on whose invitation Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the meet in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
However, Sharad Pawar, the Maratha strongman, also took a dig at Sanjay Raut over the distribution of the Mahadji Shinde Award. The Mahadji Shinde Award was conferred upon Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde by Pawar in New Delhi, days before the commencement of the 98th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan.
Meanwhile, Fadnavis while speaking to reporters, said, "I feel everyone should exercise restraint while speaking at the Sahitya Sammelan. Especially, the writers feel that politicians should not come on our stage and they make related comments. They also should avoid making comments on party lines and they should also exercise restaint."
He also refused to comment on the allegations made by Neelam Gorhe. "She was in that party, I was not in that party, so it is not right for me to comment," added Fadnavis.
