BJP's Tawde ridicules Pawar for claiming his family is united

Senior BJP leader and Maharashtra minister Vinod Tawde Saturday said NCP chief Sharad Pawar's family was not united and its members were speaking in different voices.

Speaking to reporters here, he also demanded that the Congress clarify if it wanted MNS chief Raj Thackeray to address public rallies for the opposition or not.

Tawde said the NCP chief has been claiming that he was being attacked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he had united opposition parties.

"Is Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav, Mamata Banerjee and Arivnd Kejriwal a part of the mahagathbandhan (grand alliance)? To say the mahagathbandhan is united is like saying the Pawar family is united," Tawde said.

 

Tawde added that despite the NCP chief's claim about the family being united, relatives like Rohit Pawar, Parth Pawar and Ajit Pawar, as well as daughter Supriya Sule, were talking in difference voices.

"Pawar is making such statements as he is feeling restless due to the sword of Tihar jail hanging (over his head)," Tawde said.

Speaking at a poll rally in Gondia Wednesday, Modi had alleged Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders "were unable to sleep" as their "sleep was jailed in Delhi's Tihar".

Tawde also hit out at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for stating that the "chowkidar" (a reference to PM Modi) would be sent to jail (over alleged corruption).

His brother-in-law is on his way to jail and Gandhi should not be speaking in such a manner, Tawde said.

The BJP leader said the NCP chief had claimed, in an interview, that it was the Congress which was demanding that MNS' Raj Thackeray address rally for its candidates.

This, the Maharashtra minister said, was despite the Congress opposing the entry of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena into the grand alliance.

"The Congress should clarify if they want to take MNS' support in the election and hence are demanding Raj Thackeray's rally in their candidate's constituency. The Congress should show courage to accept they want Raj to address rallies for their candidates," Tawde said.