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Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar has hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the “bhatakti aatma” (wandering soul) jibe directed at him , saying his soul is “asvastha” (restless) for the cause of farmers and the common man, and ready to be restless “100 times” to highlight their plight.
“There is a ‘bhatakti aatma’ (wandering soul) in Maharashtra. If it does not manage success it spoils others’ good work. Maharashtra has been a victim of it,” PM Modi had said at a rally on Monday, hitting out at Sharad Pawar without taking his name.
Addressing an election meeting as reported by PTI , Pawar recalled PM Modi’s 2016 statement about having come into politics holding the former’s finger, and said “PM Modi is angry with me of late”.
“Some years ago, PM Modi had delivered a speech in Pune stating that he had come into politics by holding the finger of Pawar saheb. Yesterday, he said a ‘restless’ soul in Maharashtra has been causing restlessness across the state for the last 45 years,” the NCP (SP) chief said.
“PM Modi had also said this soul was creating obstacles for the government. He also spoke about the need to safeguard against this soul,” Pawar said while addressing an election meeting in Junnar tehsil for his party Shirur Lok Sabha candidate Amol Kolhe.
Pawar said he has read PM Modi’s speech and the (‘bhatakti aatma’) statement.
“It is correct that the soul is ‘asvastha’ (restless) but not for the self but to highlight the hardships faced by farmers. I am restless to put forward the plight of the common man suffering from inflation. I am ready to be restless 100 times to highlight the woes of the people,” the veteran politician said.
