Modi-Pawar Valentine's Day meeting sets off buzz

In what is seen as an interesting development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharat Pawar and have lunch at his residence in Baramati on Valentine’s Day.

The Prime Minister will be in Maharashtra to attend the function at Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Baramati on February 14, which was fixed long time ago. But despite cautions of NCP leaders that it has no significance, the Modi-Pawar meeting has created a buzz in the state’s political circles.

While campaigning for the state Assembly elections last year, Modi went after NCP, asking voters of Baramati to oust “chacha-bhitaje ke sarkar”, referring to the older Pawar and his nephew Ajit, the then deputy chief minister.

The Prime Minister, the face of BJP’s campaign for the Assembly polls, also dubbed NCP the “Naturally Corrupt Party” at a rally in Pandharpur.

However, the NCP offered unconditional outside support to the BJP post elections when it fell short of an absolute majority, which later became moot as Shiv Sena joined the government. State NCP president Sunil Tatkare reiterated his earlier statement that the PM is merely attending the fair at Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Baramati. “In the last two press conferences of mine, this issue came up and my answer remains the same,” Tatkare said.

In the earlier statements the NCP leader had asked: “What is wrong in Prime Minister addressing a function that relates to development?” Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday similarly reiterated that the Prime Minister is going to Baramati to witness an agriculture science exhibition.