"What Awhad has said is his personal view and not that of the party," Pawar said, when his attention was drawn to Awhad objecting to Maharashtra government selecting Purandare for the state government's highest award, the Maharashtra Bhushan.
"The state government has the full authority to select any person it deems fit for the award," Pawar added.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh had last month opposed the BJP-led state government's decision to confer the prestigious award to the 92-year-old historian and said that it is "an insult to the nation".
"Awarding Purandare, who distorted the history of Shivaji Maharaj, with the title of Maharashtra Bhushan is an insult to the nation," the Congress leader had said.
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"Distorting history is RSS agenda and I strongly condemn their attack on Jitendra Awhad, who is a relentless fighter against communal forces," he had added.
Nemade also said there was no need for literary meets as nothing is achieved through them.