India is facing farmers' issues but those in power are not ready to listen, said Sharad Pawar.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar chief Sharad Pawar on Friday said he was not worried about losing the NCP name and symbol but asserted people did not approve of those who chose to go on a different path, a reference to the rebellion by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Thursday held that the Ajit Pawar-led group was the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) when two factions emerged in July 2023. Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2 last year, leading to a split in the Sharad Pawar-founded NCP.
Addressing a public meeting in Satara in western Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar said power comes and goes but ideology, policies and the thought to take the country forward are permanent.
"But some of our colleagues deviated from this path. Some took away the party, some took away the symbol. I never worry about all this. Some people chose to go on a different path by forsaking ideology but people did not appreciate this move," he asserted.
It is "amusing" to hear from these persons that they left as they wanted to work for development, Mr Pawar said.
Not everyone can be in power all the time and it cannot be said those who are not in power cannot serve the country.
"Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in the opposition for several years. Did he not serve the country? Did he ever think of leaving his party to serve the country by leaving behind his ideology? Though we had our differences, one thing everyone has to accept is that he (Vajpayee) always preserved his ideology," the former Union minister asserted.
"In 1977, when the Janata Party came to power, Yashwantrao Chavan sat in the opposition. Was that a wrong decision?" he asked.
The country was facing farmers' issues but those in power are not ready to listen, said Mr Pawar.
In the recent session of 15 days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to the Parliament only for one hour, he claimed.
"Be it Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi or Yashwantrao Chavan, they did not miss Parliament sessions even for one day," Mr Pawar asserted.
In a reference to Ajit Pawar's routine swipe about his age, Mr Pawar said,"We will overcome this situation too because if our ideological stand is strong then age will not make any difference." "I have taken a decision to go to every corner of the state, take the next generation along and create a new leadership to change the image of the state," the 83-year-old opposition stalwart asserted.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)