Hyderabad: A day after a sudden coup by his nephew Ajit Pawar unsettled NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, RJD chief Lalu Yadav said on Monday that the PM Narendra Modi-led BJP's attempt to ruffle Sharad Pawar-led NCP won't succeed.
"Sharad pawar is a tall leader, known for towering over adversities, and any attempt to unsettle him won't succeed," Yadav said. The RJD chief, who is recovering from a kidney transplant last year, hinted just days ago that he would be among the top leaders from ‘Mahagatbandhan’ or Grand Alliance.
Earlier in the day, Nationalist Congress Party patriarch Sharad Pawar put up a show of strength while paying tribute to his mentor and Maharashtra's first Chief Minister Yashwantrao Chavan at his memorial in Satara district's Karad on the occasion of Guru Purnima.
In an emotionally charged address to supporters, a stung Sharad Pawar said the BJP was trying to "destroy" all Opposition parties, and vowed to rebuild the NCP. "Today, in Maharashtra and the country, a rift is being created between the society in the name of caste and religion by some groups," he said, adding that rebels can return, but there is a time limit to this.
"Those who tried to break NCP, we will show them their real place," he added. Sharad Pawar said there was a time when they came together as Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray and formed government, but some people, by "hook or crook", toppled the government.
"It is not just happening in Maharashtra, but they are doing it in other states also. The Madhya Pradesh government, led by (Congress leader) Kamalnath, was toppled in a similar manner and the government, which encouraged communalism came into existence," he said.Earlier, Sharad Pawar left from Pune for Karad on Monday morning and stopped along the way to meet supporters who lined up on roadsides to greet him and extend support to him. In Karad, he was welcomed by thousands of supporters and local NCP MLA Balasaheb Patil. NCP's Satara Lok Sabha member Shriniwas Patil and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan, who hails from Karad, were also present.
