By IANS,
New Delhi: Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar Thursday took exception to the expressions used by Bharatiya Janata Pary (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari against Samajwadi Party (SP) and Rashtriya Janata Party (RJD) leaders, saying that no civilised person should use such language.
“Whether national or state leaders, no civilised person should use this kind of language,” Pawar told reporters at the Indian Women’s Press Corps (IWPC).
Agreeing that political leaders in the past were more circumspect in the use of language, he said there was a large section among present-day politicians too who did not like the use of intemperate language.
Gadkari Wednesday night accused SP chief Mulayam Singh and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad of betraying the opposition during the cut motions in parliament’s recently-concluded budget session.
“Bade dakarte the sher jaise, aur kutte ke jaise ban kar Sonia-ji aur Congress ke ghar par talve chatne lage (These leaders were roaring like lions but later bowed like dogs to lick the feet of Sonia and the Congress),” he told a rally in Chandigarh. Gadkari later apologised for the remarks but the SP and RJD refused to accept his regret.
Answering queries, Pawar said that there were no divisions among north Indians and Marathis living in Mumbai. “The state has always respected other people… This (divide) is not a thing of masses… Maybe some political parties have this position,” he said.
He said only about 25 percent population in Mumbai was Marathi-speaking.