No talks were held with Congress and Left parties: Sharad Pawar on Opposition letter to PM Modi

NCP chief Sharad Pawar. File Pic

With the Congress and Left parties not being signatories to a letter written by some Opposition parties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging "blatant misuse" of Central agencies, NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Monday said he hadn't spoken with these parties in this regard.

Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray are the signatories from the opposition bloc in Maharashtra to the letter written by Arvind Kejriwal of AAP and eight other parties.

Speaking to reporters, Pawar said he was the first signatory to the letter and hope the prime minister would take cognizance.

Asked about the Congress and Left parties not being signatories and whether he had spoken to these parties, Pawar said no talks took place.

"With all 5-10 people I spoke to their signatures are there in the letter. With those, I didn't speak with their signatures are not there," he said.

Also Read: Not involved in talks between Uddhav Thackeray and Prakash Ambedkar: NCP chief Sharad Pawar

Asked about his view on the need for unity among Opposition parties and the role of Congress, the veteran politician said it is important to have Congress in the opposition bloc.

"Congress is an important party in the country. Leave aside its success and failures but today the party has its workers in every village in every state. The way Congress is important, similarly, Mamata Banerjee (of Trinamool Congress) is also important besides other leaders. We will have to speak to everyone and we will start the process," he said.

Queried on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's speech at Cambridge University where he had said Indian democracy is under attack, and BJP slamming him, Pawar said why to get disappointed if Gandhi is presenting the "fact" there.

"Rahul Gandhi is a leader of a political party who was asked about his assessment. What is wrong in assessing concerns being raised about democracy in Hindustan? He expressed his opinion," Pawar added.

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