PM Modi did not think Manipur important enough to visit: Sharad Pawar

Sharad Pawar. File Pic

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not think the situation in Manipur important enough to visit the state, reported the PTI.

The Modi government has been a mute spectator to the goings on in the (Manipur) region, Sharad Pawar told reporters ahead of his public rally in Maharashtra's Beed district on Thursday, according to the PTI.

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The northeast region is important and sensitive. More attention needs to be paid to the areas bordering China, the former defence minister said.

The NCP chief claimed that things happening and being orchestrated in northeast are extremely dangerous for the country. Manipur is an example, he added.

PM Modi spoke outside Parliament and gave a three minute video message on day one of the Monsoon session, and also briefly mentioned about Manipur in his lengthy reply to the debate on the no-confidence motion, he said.

PM Modi should go to the northeast and give confidence to the people, but he did not think it important. Instead, he preferred to address election meetings in Madhya Pradesh, Sharad Pawar said.

Meanwhile, amid the buzz over a meeting between Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad Pawar, ex-CM Prithviraj Chavan said that those who align with the Congress will stay with it and those keen to go with the BJP are free to do so, reported the PTI.

Speaking to a Marathi channel in Satara, Prithviraj Chavan said on Wednesday the Congress is preparing strongly as it wants to defeat the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, according to the PTI.

Asked if last week's 'secret' meeting between NCP founder Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar and recent developments in the NCP will impact the three-party bloc of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), Prithviraj Chavan said the leaders of the respective parties will take whatever decisions need to be taken, reported the news agency.

The MVA comprises the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP.

Referring to the NCP, Prithviraj Chavan said whatever is happening in their party, the leaders of that party would be able to comment.

The NCP split last month after nine senior leaders of the party, including Ajit Pawar, joined the ruling dispensation of BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.

(with PTI inputs)