Sharad Pawar counters Sanjay Raut, backs India’s global outreach efforts

A day after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut urged the INDIA bloc to boycott the Centre’s initiative to send delegations abroad, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar took a firm stand, cautioning against injecting “local-level politics” into matters of international importance. This is the third instance in recent times when NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) have shown disagreements.

Pawar’s comments came in response to Raut’s criticism on Sunday, where the Sena (UBT) MP alleged that the Centre’s all-party delegations were a cover-up. (HT)

Speaking in Baramati on Monday, Pawar recounted his own experience as part of a delegation to the United Nations during the tenure of then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, led by BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee.