JOIN USAs he turned 77, Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar, on Tuesday, took to the streets in the winter capital of Nagpur to lash out at the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra.
The veteran with over five decades of politics behind him exhorted farmers not to pay any dues to the government till the various promises made to them by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis are met.
The three-time Maharashtra chief minister and the longest-serving Union Agriculture Minister, Pawar, who is currently a Rajya Sabha member, led the 'Jan Akrosh: Halla Bol' procession and rally – a significant step that in future would increase co-ordination between his party and the Congress.
Senior leaders including former civil aviation minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, former chief ministers Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan from the Congress besides Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule and nephew Ajit Pawar were present from the NCP side, leader of opposition in Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil (Congress) and his counterpart in Council Dhananjay Munde (NCP) senior leaders of both parties were in attendance.
The Congress and NCP jointly led the rally and were joined by leaders from the Samajwadi Party, CPI, CPM, RPI and RPI's Joginder Kavade faction besides a host of farmers groups.
"This is after 37 years that Sharad Pawar participated in a foot march. The last time was in 1980 between Jalgaon and Nagpur," state NCP President Sunil Tatkare said.
In fact, Pawar recently underwent a toe surgery, but he appeared fit and cheerful and led from the front. "Several promises were made by them to the farmers. However, none of them were realised. There has been a spate of suicides by farmers. Today we are not here to make any promise to them. We are just reminding them of the promises made to them. And I appeal the farmers not to pay any dues to the government. Stop paying electricity bills, stop paying interest on society loan till promises made to you by this government are fulfilled," said Pawar, a former Defence Minister and an ex-Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha.
The procession and rally – coinciding with the winter session of the Maharashtra legislature – was aimed to corner the BJP-Shiv Sena saffron alliance government in the state for its unfulfilled promises, including the loan waiver programme, farmer suicides and minimum support price (MSP) price for farmers.
They rally was important as it was in Nagpur, the headquarters of the RSS, the hometown of Fadnavis and also the timing coincides with the polls in Gujarat, Modi's home state.