Sharad Pawar: Modi 'peeps' in homes of others as he has no family

Sharad Pawar strongman said Narendra Modi stooped low by making comments about his family, but he cannot behave in the same way.

Jalna: NCP chief Sharad Pawar has hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he is "peeping into the homes of others" as he has no family of his own. Addressisng a poll rally at Partur here Monday, Pawar said Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was released by Pakistan under pressure from the world community and the Modi government had no role in it.

"I have my wife, daughter, son-in-law and nephews. What Modi has?...no one," he said, attacking the PM over his remarks on feud in the Pawar family. "That is why Modi is peeping into the homes of others. How will he (Modi) know how to run a family, he has no one?" the former Union minister said.

The Maratha strongman said Modi stooped low by making comments about his family, but he cannot behave in the same way. At an election rally in Wardha early this month, Modi had said a family war is going on in the NCP. The PM had also claimed that Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar is slowing capturing the 1999-founded party. Pawar said if Modi had a 56-inch chest, as he has claimed, then why his government has failed to ensure the release of Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Navy officer, from Pakistani jail.

Jadhav is in a jail in Pakistan, where he has been sentenced to death by a military court on charges of espionage. Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Modi had claimed at an election rally in Uttar Pradesh that only a person with a "56-inch chest" (implying a bold approach) could solve problems faced by the country. Pawar said Modi constantly criticises Congress stalwarts like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, but he should tell what he has done for the country.

He also lambasted Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for not giving reservation in education and government jobs to the Dhangar (shepherd) community. Even the Maratha reservation issue is pending in court, the former Chief Minister said, adding, "They (BJP leaders) deceive people." Pawar was addressing the rally in support of Rajesh Vitekar, the NCP candidate from the Parbhani Lok Sabha constituency, which will vote on April 18.

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