If a Politician’s Son Enters Politics, How Is That Dynasty Politics, Asks Sharad Pawar

Sharad Pawar, the national president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), launched a scathing attack on the central government at a press conference on Saturday. He also questioned the government's stance on dynasty politics.

"Dynasty politics has arrived, and it must be defeated," Pawar said. "But what exactly is dynasty politics? A doctor's son becomes a doctor, a businessman's son becomes a businessman, and a farmer's son becomes a farmer. So, if a politician's son enters politics, how is that dynasty politics? Therefore, it is not appropriate for the Prime Minister to talk about dynasty politics. He should talk about the fundamental issues."

Pawar also criticized the government's policies on agriculture. "The current government's policies on the country's agricultural economy are anti-farmer," he said. "Therefore, there were no expectations from them. Onion growers thought that they would resolve their issue, but no attention was paid to it. Every farmer in the country is currently in crisis, but still, no concrete decisions are being taken by the central government regarding farmers."

Pawar also spoke about the India Alliance, a coalition of opposition parties that is challenging the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming general elections. "An online meeting of the India Alliance was held today," Pawar said. "Some colleagues suggested that Mallikarjun Kharge should accept the leadership of the India Alliance, and many agreed. It was also suggested that Nitish Kumar should take on the responsibility as convener. However, Kumar expressed the opinion that there is no need for a convener post. Therefore, no appointment was made to the convener post. The idea is to face the elections with one mind."

Pawar also said that many participants in the meeting suggested that a committee be formed to organize joint meetings. "Today, various political parties are coming together against the ruling party to provide an alternative to the country," Pawar said. "This is the strong point of the India Alliance. I will give you the example of 1977. When the elections were held in 1977, we did not announce the face for the prime ministership in advance. The elections were held, and the party that the people chose in that election appointed Morarji Desai as the prime minister."

"No one was selected while facing the election, or Morarji Desai's face was not projected. Still, we won the election then. Because at that time, there was a strong sentiment against the Emergency among the people. Keeping that in mind, we asked for votes and the people gave votes. As a result, we did not have to project anyone. The situation is the same even now. We do not need to project anyone."

Pawar also spoke about the upcoming consecration of the Ram statue in Ayodhya.

"I have not received an invitation for the consecration of the Ram statue in Ayodhya," Pawar said. "I said that it is okay, but I will go. However, I will not go on January 22, but I will definitely go later. Ram belongs to everyone. Also, the price of plane tickets to Ayodhya has been increased. Tickets that cost 10,000 have been increased to 40,000. The airline service is so expensive, in such a situation, if someone does not go to Ayodhya, it will be wrong to assume that the person does not have faith in Ram."