'BJP Will Have To Pay A Price': Sharad Pawar Slams Centre, Says Farmers, Common People 'Miffed' With Govt Policies

Accusing Centre of misusing ED and CBI, Sharad Pawar noted a perceived bias in investigations, alleging that the majority of those targeted belonged to Opposition parties.

New Delhi: Launching a scathing attack on the BJP-led government at the Centre, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Sharad Pawar expressed discontent among farmers and the public due to the central policies and the prevailing unemployment situation, suggesting that the saffron party would face its consequences as a result.

Addressing a press conference in Maharashtra’s Nashik, Pawar highlighted the dissatisfaction among farmers in regions like Dhule, Pune, and Satara, particularly concerning onion farming, sugarcane, and ethanol policies imposed by the Centre, as well as fluctuating prices of agricultural produce. He emphasised that such grievances, coupled with unemployment concerns, would reflect negatively for the ruling party.

"Farmers are unhappy with the present rulers. There is unhappiness among onion farmers in Nashik, Dhule, Pune and Satara. Farmers are unhappy over the sugarcane and ethanol policy of the Centre. They are unhappy over the prices of other agricultural produce. People are also unhappy due to unemployment. The ruling party will have to pay a price for it," PTI quoted Pawar as saying.

Accusing the central government of using agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to target Opposition parties, Pawar noted a perceived bias in investigations, alleging that the majority of those targeted belonged to Opposition parties.

Pawar cited examples of alleged misuse of power, mentioning individuals who faced corruption charges but were not prosecuted after joining the ruling party. He contrasted this with his party's approach during the UPA rule, asserting they did not exploit their authority.

"ED is being used against the (BJP's) opponents only. Though charges are made against people by ED, the conviction rate is very low. The Modi government came to power at the Centre in 2014. Since then, the ED conducted an inquiry against 121 people. Of them, 115 are from the Opposition parties. Not a single leader of the BJP is amongst them," PTI quoted Pawar as saying.

"Corruption charges were earlier levelled against leaders like Hasan Mushrif, Pratap Sarnaik, Yamini Jadhav, but no action was taken against them after they joined the ruling side. The ED took action against people during the UPA rule also, but only three of them were BJP leaders. We did not misuse power," he added.

Notably, Pawar is set to participate in Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which arrived in Malegaon, Nashik, from Dhule.

Regarding seat-sharing discussions within the MVA for the Lok Sabha elections, Pawar said that agreements on most seats had been reached, with only a few pending decisions.

“We have decided who will contest which seats and a decision on 3-4 seats is pending. It has been decided to give some seats to Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA). If he joins us, we will contest the elections together,” PTI quoted Pawar as saying.