Sharad Pawar contacted Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who is also Pune's Guardian Minister

A day after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut urged the INDIA bloc to boycott the Centre's initiative to send delegations abroad, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar took a firm stand, cautioning against injecting "local-level politics" into matters of international importance.

- Abhay Khairar

PUNE: This is the third instance in recent times when NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) have shown disagreements.

Speaking in Baramati, Pawar recounted his own experience as part of a delegation to the United Nations during the tenure of then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, led by BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee. "When it comes to global issues, party-level politics must take a back seat. The Centre has constituted delegations to present India's position on the Pahalgam terror attack and Pakistan's role in its aftermath," the veteran politician said.

Pawar's comments came in response to Raut's criticism on Sunday, where the Sena (UBT) MP alleged that the Centre's all-party delegations were a cover-up for its "sins and crimes" and should have been boycotted by the INDIA bloc parties. While Pawar acknowledged Raut's right to voice his opinion, he noted, "A member of his own party is part of one such delegation. I believe local political differences shouldn't interfere with such matters."

The delegations include 51 leaders across party lines, tasked with articulating India's stance on terrorism as part of Operation Sindoor. NCP (SP) working president and Baramati MP Supriya Sule is among the delegates, as is Priyanka Chaturvedi from Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena.