MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and federal Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar that it was true that he could not go to Orissa to attend the Third Front meeting held by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Bhubneshwar on Friday for the public rally as his helicopter that was to take him to Mumbai from Nashik had developed a technical snag.
But, he added, it is for us to decide as to where to go with others outside Maharashtra and the Congress party has no right to give us any advice.
Pawar, however, said “the NCP would continue to remain with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). However, if the numbers of UPA candidates fall short of majority, then we would enroll the support of like-minded political parties to form the government in Delhi.”
There was political upheaval in the Congress after news spread that Pawar would fly to Bhubneshwar and address the Third Front rally there. This prompted the federal home minister and Congress leader P. Chidambaram to comment that “it would be better for Pawar if he does not attend the public meeting in Orissa.”
Even as Pawar could not go to there, his speech was broadcasted on the public system through his cell phone. Pawar last evening released his party’s manifesto at a press conference in Mumbai.
Meanwhile, after issuing a threat two days ago to boycott and vote against the Congress and the NCP in the state and to support the Muslim candidates of secular parties if both the Congress and NCP failed to put up at least five Muslim candidates in Maharashtra, the Muslim clerics made a turn-about and declared that they were withdrawing the boycott call after a meeting with state chief minister Ashok Chavan.
There was widespread anger in the Muslim community against the attitude of the clerics. Several Muslim leaders said that the clerics should not dabble in politics and let the community leaders and intellectuals decide about what role the Muslims should play in the polls.
