On his second day in Mumbai, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar carried on with his meeting with party leaders on Thursday. Ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections, Supriya Sule and other party leaders were spotted arriving for the meeting at the party headquarters to assess the NCP’s plans for the Maharashtra Lok Sabha seats.
Meanwhile, a discussion between the BJP and the NCP has been sparked by Pawar’s remarks regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The NCP president stated on October 15 at a public meeting of party workers in Mumbai that Prime Minister Narendra Modi backed Israel in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, but all previous Indian prime ministers had taken a solid stance in favor of Palestine.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal had criticized the remarks made by the NCP leader. Goyal, expressing his dismay at Pawar’s comments and highlighting the need to denounce terrorism globally, cited Pawar’s prior important positions in the government during crucial security situations.
In an odd reaction to Sharad Pawar’s remark, Assam president Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that it appears the NCP president will send his daughter Supriya Sule to Gaza to fight for Hamas. In reaction, Sule stated that while she and Himanta Biswa Sarma have “same DNA,” “the BJP trait of disrespecting women has rubbed off on him.”
“He is originally from Congress. He and I share the same Congress DNA…You know how the BJP is disrespectful towards women. But I had hopes from Himanta Biswa Sarma. I am surprised how this change has happened towards women and the approach, probably going into BJP is a little rubbing off on him…BJP IT cell needs to understand and hear carefully what Sharad Pawar has said. Hear his entire statement…” the Lok Sabha MP said.
The NCP’s various factions, meanwhile, established separate chapters in the nation’s capital on Wednesday after the party lost its national status, forcing them to relocate from their headquarters. The Pawar faction of the NCP, led by Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, opened its new headquarters at North Avenue in the nation’s capital, while the part lead by Sharad Pawar opened its central office in the Lodhi estate.