MUMBAI: Amid reports that both factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will join the BJP-led governments in Maharashtra and the Centre, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar is set to be the chief guest at an event in Pune where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be conferred with Lokmanya Tilak National Award.
Earlier, Rohit Tilak, great grand-son of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and the vice president of the Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust, which organises the award, said Pawar has confirmed that he will preside over the event. In fact, Pawar later said it was he who helped Tilak to get the prime minister’s date for the event.
Modi is being conferred the award in recognition of his “supreme leadership” and for “awakening the feeling of patriotism among citizens”. Meanwhile, Opposition parties hit out at Pawar saying while he is helping the Opposition alliance, INDIA, take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he himself is attending as chief guest in a function where Modi will be praised.
“We really failed in understanding the Pawar’s politics. Actually. He should drop his decision to attend as chief guest in the event in which Modi will be conferred with Lokmanya Tilak National Award,” a senior Congress leader said, adding it is “not a good optics” by Pawar at this juncture.
Interestingly, the NCP faction led by Pawar will join the Congress and social activists in showing the black flag to Modi during his Pune visit over his silence on the violence in Manipur.