'Pawar' play? BJP hints at NCP chief's role in Raut & Ahwad's anti-Indira Gandhi remarks

Amid the strife in the Maha Vikas Aghadi over Maharashtra Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad’s remark against former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, BJP MLA Ashish Shelar on Thursday alleged that this was a part of NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s strategy to settle scores with the Gandhi family.

Shelar drew a link between Awhad’s remarks and Sena MP Sanjay Raut’s allegation that Indira Gandhi had met members of the underworld. Shelar buttressed his claim by pointing out the excellent relationship that Raut and Awhad enjoy with Sharad Pawar.  

Read: Raut Lands CM Uddhav In Soup; Warkari Community Threatens Stir Over Insult To Lord Vitthal

Read: Yashwant Sinha's 'Gandhi Shanti Yatra' Names Sharad Pawar Congress Chief, Twitter Responds

Remarks against Indira Gandhi

Awhad's remarks at a public rally on Wednesday sparked off the current controversy. Recalling the movement against the Emergency, he observed that Indira Gandhi had strangulated democracy at that time. Immediately, his Cabinet colleague and senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan issued a veiled warning in this regard. 

Jitendra Awhad remarked, "Indira Gandhi had also strangulated democracy and nobody was ready to speak against her. Then, students from Ahmedabad and Patna protested and the JP (Jayaprakash Narayan) movement started leading to her defeat. This history will be repeated in Maharashtra and the country."

On the other hand, Raut made a sensational claim about the clout of the underworld dons in Maharashtra during the Congress regime. According to him, the mafia had a say even in the appointment of the Police Commissioner. Moreover, he observed that Indira Gandhi met don Karim Lala.  

"They (underworld) used to decide who will be Mumbai's police commissioner and who will sit in Mantralaya (state secretariat)," Raut said. He added, "When (underworld don) Haji Mastan came to Mantralaya, the entire secretariat would come down to see him. Indira Gandhi used to meet Karim Lala in Pydhonie (in south Mumbai)". 

Read: Ajit Pawar Takes A Veiled Dig At Ashok Chavan, Appeals 'let Only Top MVA Leadership Speak'

Frosty relationship with the Gandhis

It is important to note that Pawar was a senior leader of Congress for many decades. However, he quit the party in 1999 in protest over the alleged Prime Ministerial ambitions of Italy-born Sonia Gandhi. Subsequently, he took a U-turn and formed the government in Maharashtra along with the Congress- a combination that ruled the state for 15 consecutive years. However, it is speculated that he still shares an uneasy relationship with the Congress president as the PM's post eluded him over the years. This came to the fore during the hectic parlays for government formation in Maharashtra in November 2019, when both Congress and NCP blamed each other for a delay in finalising the alliance.  

Read: NCP Confused? Pawar's Party Issues Opposing Stances On CAA, Claims Uddhav's Hands Tied