Pune: Nationalist Congress Party (NC president Sharad Pawar, credited for being the chief architect of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance government in Maharashtra, said Thursday that although many people thought he would retire from active politics, the people of the state, especially the youth, did not allow that to happen.
Pawar was speaking at the inauguration of the agro exhibition organised at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Baramati, his home turf, where Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was also present.
Before Pawar started his speech, Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar greeted the NCP chief with a bouquet of flowers.
Referring to it, Sharad Pawar said in a lighter vein, “Before I could start my address, I was given a bouquet of flowers by them (Thackeray and Ajit Pawar)… It seems they have decided to retire me. I have no objection to that. A lot of people thought that I will retire (from active politics), but that did not happen. In fact, the people of Maharashtra and the youth did not allow that to happen.
The BJP and the Shiv Sena had fought the Maharashtra Assembly polls together in October last year, but their alliance collapsed after the Uddhav Thackeray-led party walked out and joined hands with the Congress and the NCP to form the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. Pawar is considered the chief architect of the unlikely alliance of the three parties.
During his speech, Pawar also said that agricultural practices across the world were changing and with new innovations, the production has also increased.
“In a very populated country like India, farming and agriculture is an important sector to fulfil the needs of the common people. That is why there is a need to bring in changes, make improvements and encourage research. We also need to ensure that these things reach the doorstep of the farmers,” the former Union Agriculture Minister said.
PTI
