Sharad Pawar backs joint opposition action against use of CBI, ED raids for political vendetta

Raids by central investigating agencies appear to be the latest rallying point for opposition parties as NCP supremo Sharad Pawar on Tuesday echoed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s appeal for a united fight against the BJP. “We will take up the issue in Parliament tomorrow. We shall see what we can do together in this regard,” Pawar told reporters here when asked about Banerjee’s letter to all non-BJP chief ministers and opposition leaders on the alleged misuse of central investigating agencies.

Earlier, speaking at the national executive meeting of the Nationalist Youth Congress, Pawar accused the BJP of using raids by central investigating agencies to target opposition leaders for political vendetta.

“Those in power today believe that those who do not share their ideology are enemies. CBI/ED raids have become commonplace and used for political vendetta to trouble political opponents,” he said, referring to the raids on his party colleagues Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik.

“There is something or the other going against every leader of the NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena… Prime Minister Narendra Modi has one thing in mind: he wants BJP rule from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, irrespective of the wishes of the people,” Pawar said.

On ‘The Kashmir Files’ film, the NCP chief accused Modi of fomenting communal troubles by promoting a movie that stokes anger among people instead of healing age-old wounds.

“Whatever happened to Kashmiri Pandits was not good for the country. They had to leave their homes and come here. But, we need to forget the bygones, move forward and work towards establishing harmony among communities. But those responsible for ruling the country are promoting a film that spreads anger among the people,” Pawar said.

He said the film shows that Hindus and women faced atrocities in Kashmir, when in reality both Muslims and Hindus faced the brunt of separatists.

“In Kashmir, there was a section that was against both — Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits. This section received support from across the border and several Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits had to leave. But the film is a misrepresentation as it shows that only Kashmiri Pandits were hounded out of Kashmir,” Pawar said.