Sharad Pawar rubbishes BJP's 'Operation Kamal' after 'student' analogy for Uddhav's MVA

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday said 'Operation Lotus' will not be successful in Maharashtra and asserted that the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition government in the state will complete its tenure of five years. In the third part of the interview with Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut for mouthpiece 'Saamana', Pawar said 'Operation Lotus' simply means weakening and destabilizing the government formed by the people by blatant misuse of power.

'Will complete the tenure of five years'

Sharad Pawar said, "Operation Kamal (Lotus) simply means weakening, destabilizing the government elected by the people and using the Central powers to do so. Operation Kamal or whatever else it is, nothing can topple the CM Uddhav Thackeray-led government in the state. The Maha Vikas Aghadi government will complete its tenure of five years."

Earlier, the NCP leader had called out the 'arrogance' of former CM Devendra Fadnavis. In the 'historic marathon interview,' Pawar reportedly said that the arrogance of Fadnavis cost him the seat of the CM. Fadnavis repeatedly said that he will come into power again and tried to sideline the then ally Shiv Sena, and it resulted in his downfall, Pawar said.

Sharad Pawar opined that Fadnavis thought no other party had the right to exist in Maharashtra which led to the three parties (Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena) coming together. Reiterating that there is no rift in the Maha Vikas Aghadi, Pawar said that it will complete the full-term because it has remained united in the last four months of COVID crisis - terming it as the toughest times.

READ | Don't take voters for granted; even Indira, Atal had lost: Pawar

'The student is working hard'

Speaking about the performance of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government in the second part of the interview, Pawar, who played a key role in the formation of the ruling alliance comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, said it would not be right to judge the government on its performance in six months.

READ | Pawar rubbishes differing from 'cautious' Thackeray on lockdown; favours reviving economy

"The written exam is over. Practicals are pending. The student is working hard. So there is no need to worry about the result. In the six-month exam, the student has passed. I am confident the student will clear the next exam easily," he said. This is the first time a non-Thackeray politician has been interviewed in Saamana, with the previous two leaders being Sena's Balasaheb and Uddhav Thackeray.

READ | Sharad Pawar says 'not the remote control in MVA govt'; opens up on BJP-Sena failure

READ | Sharad Pawar slams Fadnavis' 'arrogance' in Sanjay Raut's dramatic Saamana interview

(With agency inputs)