Pawar criticised for ‘kids' comment

Lily

B.R
Staff member
Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray yesterday hit back at union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar for saying that he did not discuss major issues like the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant (JNPP) with "kids" — an oblique reference to his son Uddhav Thackeray.

Pawar made the statement in response to a query last Thursday on Shiv Sena's opposition to the 9,900 megawatt JNPP in Ratnagiri district, around 375km south of Mumbai.

"Uddhav has taken up the mission to oppose JNPP and will continue to oppose it. But you [Pawar] will not discuss it with him. So, enlighten us with what kind of ‘men' you usually discuss major political issues?" Thackeray demanded in a sharp editorial in party mouthpiece Saamna.

Sarcastic tone

In a sarcastic tone, referring to prominent Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders, Thackeray said that for Pawar, his nephew Ajit Pawar must be like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Praful Patel was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, R.R. Patil was like G.B. Pant, Jayant Patil was like Nanasaheb Patil and alliance partner and Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan was S.M. Joshi. Thackeray suggested that if Pawar could not discuss major issues even with these leaders, then he should talk it over with world leaders like Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin or Nicolas Sarkozy.

Stung by Pawar's remark, Shiv Sena's executive president Thackeray hit back at the NCP chief here yesterday.

Poser

The 51-year-old Uddhav said that Pawar should first verify the age of his own relatives and allies before speaking about the children of other politicians.

"What is the age of Supriya Sule-Pawar and Ajit Pawar, or for that matter, even Rahul Gandhi," Uddhav asked.
 
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