Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said he hoped to see Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar live till 100 but criticised what he called attempts by his followers to "attract sympathy" by highlighting his age.
"He has our blessings. I hope he lives till 100. He can be in politics as long as he wants. But this attempt by some of his followers to attract sympathy by highlighting his age is not right," Mr Fadnavis said at a news conference, sitting next to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The comments come amid a back-and-forth between Sharad Pawar's camp and members of the breakaway unit of his party led by Ajit Pawar that has joined the BJP-Shiv Sena government over the 83-year-old's age.
At a public meeting two days ago, Ajit Pawar appeared to question his uncle's leadership of the party he now wants to take over.
"In other parties, leaders retire after an age. In BJP, leaders retire at 75, when are you going to stop? You should also give new people a chance. If we make mistakes, tell us. Your age is 83, will you ever stop or not? You give us blessings," Ajit Pawar, 63, said, addressing a meeting where he paraded MLAs who supported him.
"Everybody has his innings. The most productive years are from 25 to 75 years," said Ajit Pawar, who joined the Eknath Shinde-led government in a shock move on Sunday.
Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule's counter came at the parallel rally of Sharad Pawar, where far fewer MLAs showed up.
"Some people are saying that people who are senior now should give us blessings. Why should they stop working? Ratan Tata is 86 years old. Serum Institute's Cyrus Poonawala's age is 84. Amitabh Bachchan is 82...," Ms Sule said, also naming Warren Buffet and Farooq Abdullah.
