Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece Saamana on Monday trained guns at NCP supremo Sharad Pawar saying that though he destroyed the BJP’s plan, he has surely failed in grooming his successor in the party. The NCP reacted sharply to the development and said that the lakhs of party workers who are taking the thought forward are all successors of the party.
“Sharad Pawar is like an old tree of the political field. He exited the Congress to set up his own party NCP. He took the party forward and made its presence felt. However, he has failed to create a leadership that will hold the reins of the party after him. The party has its roots in Maharashtra…,” said the editorial of Saamana.
“The moment Pawar announced his decision to step down from party president’s post, it caused a sensation in national politics. More than national politics, it affected his party more. Because Sharad Pawar means the Nationalist Congress Party….,” the editorial added.
Saamana claims BJP planned to split NCP
The paper also praised Pawar’s recent move to announce his resignation. “The BJP split the Shiv Sena. Likewise, it had a plan to break the NCP into two. Some people were ready with ‘bags’ and had kept lodging-boarding ready for those arriving there. However, Sharad Pawar’s masterstroke ensured that the BJP’s game plan went to the dustbin,” it said.
'Pawar refused to tow BJP's line'
The editorial claimed that one group of the NCP wanted Sharad Pawar to join hands with the BJP and free them from the harassment of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the Income Tax Department. “However, Pawar refused to toe their line. Not just that, the moment he announced his resignation from the party president’s post, Maharashtra’s political terrain suffered an electric shock. The party rank and file pressured him to take back his resignation…,” the editorial said.
'Pawar appointed a jumbo-sized committee'
Following pressure from NCP workers and leaders, Pawar decided to set up a committee. “He appointed a jumbo-sized committee. And who made it to the committee? Many of them were those who were insisting that the NCP join hands with the BJP. But due to the anger among party workers, the committee was left with no option but to reject the resignation of Sharad Pawar as party president. The committee was to tell Pawar that, ‘hereafter only he and he will remain the president.’ Thus, before the third edition could end, Pawar brought the curtains down on it,” the editorial added.
NCP hits back at Shiv Sena (UBT)
The NCP reacted to the criticism sharply. Party’s chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase Sanjay Raut, the executive editor of Saamana and Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member. He said, “Raut should remember that Pawar saheb has created not one but lakhs of workers who are his successors.
