Battle of Pawars: Darekar slams Sule for 'Sunetra like mother' comment

Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pravin Darekar on Sunday said his party had not divided families for political gain as alleged by Baramati MP Supriya Sule, who is pitted against her sister-in-law Sunetra Pawar.

Sule, three-time MP from Baramati, is the daughter of Nationalist Congress Party (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar, while debutant Sunetra Pawar is the wife of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, whose NCP is allied with the Shiv Sena and BJP.

In a pre-recorded message, MLC Darekar said Sule had alleged the BJP engineered a divide in the Pawar family. "The entire state knows who engineered divisions in the families of several politicians and reaped benefits from it. The state exactly knows who is that house-breaker," he said in an apparent reference to opposition stalwart Sharad Pawar. If Sunetra Pawar is like a mother then why is Sule fighting against her, Darekar asked, adding the statement by the Baramati MP was just an emotional appeal for political gain.

Speaking in Pune earlier in the day, Sule had said "my sister-in-law, whom we call 'vahini' in Marathi, will remain in the position of mother, and my respect for her will remain as before".

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done so much work that no one can raise a finger against him. Even Ajit Pawar has done so much work that the opposition cannot point out any limitation. Sule should focus her campaign on issues of the nation rather than making some emotional appeals," Darekar said.

Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Shirsat too criticised Sule and said the latter must allow Sunetra Pawar to win if she thought of her as a mother. "She should let her win and give a gift to her brother. Even if the family was divided by the BJP, Sule should act as per tradition and culture and ensure Sunetra Pawar's victory," Shirsat said.