Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to repeal the contentious farm laws would not have been taken had there not been elections in Uttar Pradesh and other States in the near future, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar said on Wednesday.
Speaking at Mahabaleshwar in Satara at the NCP’s youth wing convention, Mr. Pawar quashed the BJP’s prediction that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Government would not complete its five-year term.
“Elections are to be held soon in U.P. and other States...when those in power visited villages, they got a different kind of reception from what they expected...they might have sensed what kind of treatment they will get when they go to seek votes,” Mr. Pawar said.
Taking potshots at State BJP president Chandrakant Patil’s frequent predictions of collapse of the MVA Government, Mr. Pawar expressed confidence that the coalition would not only complete its full term successfully but would come to power if elections were held at any point of time.
Lambasting the Centre’s misuse of Central agencies in Maharashtra, he said there was nothing new about their actions and that their inquiries would yield no result. “I recently met West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee…there are six to seven Ministers from her Government who are presently harassed by the Central agencies. I am going to meet her in Mumbai soon, ” he said, adding that the Centre had taken a stand to “harass” the non-BJP States by unleashing agencies on them.
