From labelling him an atheist who has no respect for Hindu gods to claiming he kick-started casteist politics in Maharashtra, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar is under attack from all corners. The attacks aren’t only from political parties — there have been death threats, comments on his illness and age, and some have even wished him hell.
The veteran Maharashtra politician, who was instrumental in setting up the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ruling alliance, and from whom Prime Minister Narendra Modi once used to take advice, is facing a well-coordinated attack, both online and offline, from Right wing sympathisers.
Last week, the Maharashtra BJP’s Twitter handle posted an edited video of Mr. Pawar’s public rally in Satara, where he recited a poem by Jawahar Rathod, in which the poet talks about atrocities committed on people from lower castes. The tweet said that “atheist Sharad Pawar always hated Hindu gods”. An army of social media trolls picked up the issue and targeted the NCP chief. Joining the chorus were some BJP leaders, including party MLA Nitesh Rane.
