Responding to the NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s statements that there would be violence and caste clashes in the state, the chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra, Chandrashekhar Bawankule, condemned it and said that such things are just rumours.
Bawankule dubbed Pawar’s statement shocking and alleged that the veterans defamed Maharashtra and its people for politics.
On Sunday, Pawar stated that the situation in Maharashtra might result in violent actions like in Manipur due to the constantly escalating tension between the Maratha and Other Backward Class (OBC) over the issue of reservation. He had stated that the newly formed Eknath Shinde-led government should kindly meet Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil and OBC leaders to solve this problem.
However, Bawankule downplayed Pawar’s concerns and stressed that the people of Maharashtra did not endorse any violence or war. While criticising Fadnavis, he said that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis proves that he is “capable of controlling any situation” and should apprise the farming Pawar that he was getting “unsportsmanlike” and should stop “petty politics.
The BJP leader further said that the opposition parties, especially the Congress, want to “create confusion” and “set one caste against another” to achieve their political objectives, the Lok Sabha polls this year when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine made stunning gains.
Decrying the commonality between Congress and NCP as anti-people, Bawankule asserted that in the next assembly polls, the people of Maharashtra would teach the opposition bloc a fitting lesson, pointing to the ruling BJP’s resolve to return to the majority in the state.
