Maharashtra BJP legislator equates Sharad Pawar with pandemic

MUMBAI: Maharashtra BJP MLC Gopichand Padalkar on Wednesday stirred a controversy by calling NCP chief Sharad Pawar as corona disease. This statement lead to his criticism by NCP and BJP distanced itself from the statement. Padalkar was earlier with Prakash Ambedkar's Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi.

"It is my opinion that Sharad Pawar is like a corona (disease) in Maharashtra. He has been leading the state for a number of years. However, under his leaderhips may Bahujans have been discriminated against. He does not have an ideology or a vision, he just incites small groups and then leaves them to their fate," said Padalkar.

The MLC claimed that Pawar's NCP was just using the Dhangar community, to which he belonged, and that the Maha Vikas Aghadi was not intent on including the Dhangars in the ST category.


Several NCP leaders threatened violence against him and sought an immediate apology for his remark. Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis also disapproved of the remark saying, "I have spoken to Padalkar. We are political rivals but not enemies. Using such words (against Pawar) is wrong."

The BJP is wary of targeting Pawar directly especially after the 2019 assembly polls as the BJP's attempts to targPawar seem to have boomeranged on the party.