Hitting back at Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his "ringleader of corruption in politics" remark, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief and Maharashtra leader Sharad Pawar said that it was strange that a person who had been externed from Gujarat by the Supreme Court was leading such an important ministry in the country.
"A few days ago, Home Minister Amit Shah attacked me and said a few things. He said that Sharad Pawar is the commander of all the corrupt people in the country. Strangely, the man who is the Home Minister of the country today is such a person who misused the law of Gujarat, and for this, the Supreme Court banished him from Gujarat," Sharad Pawar said, as quoted by news agency ANI.
"The one who was banished is the Home Minister of the country today. So, we should think about where we are headed. The way the people in whose hands this country is are taking this wrong path, we should think about it, otherwise, they will 100 percent take the country on the wrong path. We will have to pay attention to this,” he added.
Amit Shah was externed from Gujarat for two years in 2010 in connection with the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case. He was later acquitted in the case in 2014.
Pawar’s response comes after Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on the opposition stalwart earlier in the latter's home district of Pune by calling him the 'Sargana' (ringleader) of the corrupt people in the country.
While addressing the BJP conclave in Maharashtra's Pune on July 21, the former BJP president said, "The opposition is accusing us of corruption, but the biggest ringleader of corruption in Indian politics is Sharad Pawar. If any politician in any government in the country has institutionalised corruption, it is Sharad Pawar, and I have absolutely no confusion about it. What will they accuse us of now? If somebody has done the job of institutionalising corruption, Sharad Pawar, it is you. And you are accusing us of corruption?"
Shah slamed the opposition alliance, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), and Sharad Pawar over the alleged milk powder import circular that is making the rounds in the state. He accused the MVA of "spreading lies" and announced that not even 1 gram of milk powder will be imported in the next five years.
The Union Home Minister further accused Sharad Pawar of "disabling" the Maratha reservation whenever his party came to power in the state. Shah also vowed to continue the Maratha reservation in the state if voted to power.
Shah also targeted Congress, accusing the party of spreading "misconceptions" about reservations and alleged that the Congress party cannot do "garib kalyan."
Highlighting the Lok Sabha election results, Shah said that the saffron party won for the third time while the Congress party failed to breach the 240 mark.
"BJP got 240 seats, NDA got 300 seats, and the entire INDI alliance did not even get 240 seats. Even if we combine the seats won by Congress in the past 3 elections, even then they cannot breach the 240-seat mark. In this election also, the people of India gave Modi ji their stamp of approval. BJP stood victorious for the third consecutive time," the BJP leader said.