NCP Chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that instead of coming to Pune to inaugurate the incomplete metro project during his visit on Sunday, he should have focused on the rescue of students stuck up in the war hit Ukraine.
‘’I agree that there are important projects in Pune that are incomplete and the PM will be inaugurating the important one, rescuing students stranded in Ukraine is more important. I think the ruling party must be thinking of it seriously," Pawar said.
Pawar had recently spoken to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and requested him to expedite the efforts to bring back Indian students stranded along the Ukraine-Poland border at the earliest.
Speaking on the plight of Indian students, Pawar on Saturday said that many students are suffering due to the war between Russia and Ukraine. "I had spoken with an Indian student stranded there. He told me that the Indian embassy told them to cross the Ukraine border, which is a six-odd hours from where this student is located,’’ said Pawar.
"The students are ready to walk but extreme cold, bombarding and firing is a major cause of worry for them. I think the ruling party (read BJP) should focus on this. I agree that there are important projects in Pune that are incomplete and the PM will be inaugurating the important one (I think) rescuing students stranded in Ukraine is more important. I think the ruling party must be thinking about it seriously," noted the former Union minister.
Meanwhile, Pawar lashed out at BJP for demanding the party minister Nawab Malik's resignation saying why the party did not seek resignation of union minister Narayan Rane after his arrest last year. He claimed that Malik’s arrest was "politically motivated" and attempts were made to connect him to fugitive Underworld don Dawood Ibrahim because he is a Muslim.
He also dismissed the demands raised by the Opposition seeking the resignation of Malik. ‘’Different yardsticks are being applied to Union minister Narayan Rane (BJP) and Malik,’’ he opined. ‘’Malik and his family members are being deliberately harassed but we will fight back,'' said Pawar. .
"I don't remember our (Congress') former party worker Narayan Rane had to resign after his arrest recently. Tomorrow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is coming to Pune. He may explain more about it. Applying one yardstick for Malik and another for Rane shows that all this was politically motivated," he claimed.
Rane was arrested last August by the police at Sangameshwar in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra for his statement that he would have slapped state Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for forgetting the year India got freedom during his Independence Day speech.
Modi in Pune
Ahead of the elections to the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporations, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday will inaugurate a 12 km stretch of the total 32.2 km long Pune Metro Rail Project which is being implemented at a cost of more than Rs 11,400 crore. Modi will also inaugurate and inspect the exhibition at Garware Metro Station during his visit. This will enable people to ride the metro to the Anandnagar metro station.
Modi will unveil the statue of Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Pune Municipal Corporation premises at around 11 am. This idol is made of 1850 kg gunmetal and is about 9.5 feet high.
At 11.30 pm, he will inaugurate the Pune Metro Rail project. At around 12 noon, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of many development projects and will inaugurate it. He will also lay the foundation stone for the rejuvenation and pollution abatement of the Mula-Mutha river projects. PM Modi will also inaugurate 100 e-buses and e-bus depots built in Baner.
Maha Metro has set a target of completing a network of 33.29 km in Pune city by December 2022. Till now, the work of up to 11.97 km has been completed. The work of the remaining 21.32 km is to be completed in the next ten months.
