Didn't discuss politics with Ajit: Pawar

Days after his "secret" meeting with nephew Ajit Pawar created a buzz, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) patriarch Sharad Pawar took a strong line against him as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.

- Faisal Malik

The NCP chief, who is scheduled to address a rally in Beed district of Maharashtra on Thursday, declared that he did not "discuss politics" at the meeting with Ajit, and threatened to approach the judiciary if the Ajit-led NCP faction did not stop using his photograph on its banners and hoardings.

He also lashed out at the Narendra Modi-led central government, accusing it of disturbing social harmony across the country, and said that the prime minister was more concerned about his return to power in 2024 than Manipur, which has been burning due to ethnic violence for 90 days.

After Pawar's meeting with Ajit in Pune last Saturday, there was much speculation about his next step. The meeting disturbed his Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi allies - the Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) so much that they openly expressed their displeasure for the first time. Pawar's remarks in the media on Wednesday are being seen as an attempt to clear the air about his next move.