Prime minister Modi's reference to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) leader Sharad Pawar as a ``bhatakti atma" (wandering soul) has riled the latter's nephew and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. A visibly upset Ajit Pawar told newspersons that he was not sure whom Modi was referring to as the ``bhatakti atma." ``But I will definitely ask him at the next election rally whom he had in mind when he used the expression `bhatakti atma," he added. Even though Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar have parted ways and are currently locked in a no-holds-barred proxy war in Baramati, they are personally close to each other.
Meanwhile, Modi dubbing Sharad Pawar as a ``bhatakti atma" appears to have confused the Maratha patriarch as nothing before. In 2015, Modi and Sharad Pawar had shared a stage at Baramati. Modi, who had called the NCP as a Naturally Corrupt Party, had forgotten all about it and his earlier election speech wherein he had appealed to the people to get rid of the uncle-nephew duo. But at the Baramati even and another programme in Pune, Modi had claimed that Pawar was his political mentor. He had said he learnt politics by grasping Pawar's finger. Modi had even conferred the Padma Vibhushan, the highest civilian honour on Pawar, much to the discomfiture of his own partymen. Modi had even had puranpoli with Pawar at his home.
Modi's Accusations: Pawar, Politics, and Maharashtra's Stability
But, all that changed when Modi not only called Pawar a ``bhatakti atma" but also a person who hindered development of the state and was responsible for much of political instability in Maharashtra. Modi levelled this allegation at a rally in Pune in front of Sunetra Pawar, wife of Ajit Pawar and the MahaYuti nominee in Baramati. Pawar, on his part, said his atma beat for the farmers of Maharashtra.
Without taking names, PM Modi added: “The game was started by the same leader 45 years ago… It was just because of his self-ambitions that Maharashtra has remained politically unstable. Due to that, many CMs could not complete their full terms.”
Modi's 'Wandering Soul' Remark Sparks Backlash From MVA Leaders
Meanwhile, the MVA leaders attacked the Prime Minister for his remarks with state Congress President Nana Patole, NCP (SP) national spokesperson Clyde Crasto, and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief spokesperson and MP Sanjay Raut leading the charge.
“That ‘bhatakti atma’ is the Prime Minister himself… He has been restless for the past 10 years. Show a single PM from the past who has always been in a campaign mode like PM Modi, changing clothes and organising photo sessions, and going around everywhere,” Patole said in a swipe at the PM.
Crasto said, “When a person who has made India’s future go astray for the past 10 years blames someone else as a ‘bhatakti atma’, it's indeed laughable."
Raut dismissively said that the ‘bhatakti atma’ is PM Modi himself, which has been roaming around all over the state for the past few days.
With Inputs From IANS
