Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Supriya Sule on Thursday hit back at Assam Chief Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Himanta Biswa Sarma for suggesting that her father, NCP chief Sharad Pawar would send Ms. Sule to Gaza to fight for the Palestinian extremist outfit Hamas.
Speaking in Mumbai, Ms. Sule took a swipe at the Assam CM, a former Congressman, by remarking that she was surprised at how Mr. Sarma’s attitude towards women had changed once he went over to the ruling BJP.
“I am surprised [at Mr. Sarma’s remark] because Himanta Biswa Sarma has the same DNA as me. He is originally from the Congress. He and I share the same Congress DNA...You know how the BJP is disrespectful towards women. But I had hopes from Himanta Biswa Sarma. I am surprised how this change has happened towards women and the approach, probably going into BJP is a little rubbing off on him,” quipped Ms. Sule, the NCP-Sharad Pawar faction MP from Baramati in Pune.
Mr. Pawar, while recently addressing a meeting of his party workers, had said that India always supported the cause of Palestine, while claiming that Israel was an ‘outsider’ who had “encroached” on Palestinian land.
Taking aim at PM Modi, Mr. Pawar had said that former PMs like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee had all supported the Palestine cause and that Mr. Modi’s recent statements on the raging Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza seemed to convey a different position from the one previously articulated by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Mr. Pawar’s remarks had met with strong condemnation by the BJP top brass, with Mr. Sarma stating: “I think Sharad Pawar will send Supriya (Sule) to Gaza to fight for Hamas.”
Hinting that the BJP had distorted Mr. Pawar’s remarks, Ms. Sule further said that the BJP IT cell needed to understand and hear carefully what her father had actually said.
A number of top BJP leaders had lashed out at Mr. Pawar on the micro-blogging site X (formerly Twitter).
Union Minister Goyal said it was “very disturbing” when a senior leader like Mr. Pawar made “preposterous statements” on India’s stand on a terror strike against Israel by Hamas.
“The menace of terrorism has to be condemned in all forms, in any part of the world. It is a pity that a person who has been India’s Defence Minister as well as a Chief Minister many times has such a casual view on issues relating to terror. Pawar ji was a part of the same Government that shed tears on the Batla House encounter and slept while there were terror attacks on Indian soil. This rotten mindset has to stop. I hope Pawar ji at least now, thinks of the nation first,” posted Mr. Goyal on X.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and State BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said India had never changed its position on the Israel-Palestine issue but had “always strongly opposed terrorism.”
Dubbing Mr. Pawar’s statement as “irresponsible”, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said it was “imperative for senior politicians like Mr. Pawar to comprehend that the interest of the nation and national security should never be marred by political considerations.”
“National security is a paramount concern, and there should be unity and consensus when it comes to safeguarding the well-being of our nation. The gravity of the situation necessitates a unified front against terrorism, irrespective of political affiliations or personal opinions,” Mr. Gadkari had posted on X.
