Mocking 'Nakli' NCP, PM Modi Tells Sharad Pawar to Join BJP-led NDA. He Says No

Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended an invite to National Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar to join the alliance of Bharatiya Janata Party after the results for the Lok Sabha elections on June 4. In his message to senior Pawar at a rally in Maharashtra’s Nandurbar, the prime minister said, “…instead of dying by merging with the Congress, come to Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde.”

Responding to the invite, Pawar said that he would never ditch the Nehru-Gandhi ideology and join hands with those who adopt an anti-Muslim stand.

Modi on Friday took a jibe at the NCP (SP) leader’s recent statement that smaller regional parties may come closer to or merge with the Congress in the coming years.

Without mentioning his name, the prime minister called Pawar’s party the “nakli (fake) NCP” and said it would be better if it joined the BJP-led coalition in Maharashtra “with pride” than merge with the Congress and “die in four days”.

The NCP (SP) leader had earlier, on Thursday, said that voting in the first three phases of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections has unsettled PM Modi and he has openly started mentioning Muslim community in his speeches.

“He has started making a mention of Muslim community openly (in his speeches). It seems he thinks that the situation would change by bringing in communal thoughts. It is my observation that some people in his party think that as the phases complete, his position is getting in danger,” the former Union minister had told reporters in Satara.

After his attack, PM Modi, at a rally in Maharashtra’s Nandurbar district the next day, mocked Pawar for making “wild statements” despite being a “tall leader with a experience of 40-50 years in Maharashtra politics”.

“After the Baramati election, he is frustrated and disappointed. After discussing with a lot of people, he made a statement. He has said that if smaller regional parties have to survive in politics, they will have to merge with Congress,” the prime minister further said.

“It means nakli NCP and nakli Shiv Sena have made up their minds to merge with the Congress,” he added, referring to Pawar’s party and Uddhav Thackeray’s party, which are part of the Opposition INDIA bloc.

“Chaar din baad Congress mai ja karke marne ki bajay, seena taan karke humare Ajit dada aur Shinde ji ke saath aaoo, aapke sabhi sapne poore ho jayenge. (Instead of merging with the Congress and dying four days later, join hands with Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde with pride, all your dreams will be fulfilled),” PM Modi said in Nandurbar.

Reiterating PM Modi’s statement, Maharashtra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said, “The prime minister has very clearly stated that Sharad Pawar has realised that he is losing the Baramati seat that’s why he gave this statement that after June 4, all the regional parties will have to merge with the Congress because they understand that Congress is going to lose in this election.”

Pawar had also mentioned about smaller parties merging with the Congress in an interview with Indian Express on May 4. “In the next couple of years, several regional parties will associate more closely with the Congress. Or they may look at the option of merging with the Congress if they believe that is the best for their party,” he was quoted.

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