People may consider a credible alternative in 2024: Sharad Pawar

If the Opposition comes up with a credible alternative ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections people may consider it said NCP president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday stressing that the decision on the new Parliament building could have been taken through dialogue with political partiesThe senior Nationalist Congress Party NCP leader was speaking in a Sauhard Baithak meeting to foster amity at Mahatma Gandhi Mission University in Maharashtras AurangabadSpeaking about next years general elections he said My concern is if people will have the same approach for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as they have for states assembly polls If the Opposition unites and offers a credible alternative people may consider itIf the Opposition doesnt move wisely it cant expect people to think of a different choice on their own he saidMany opposition parties including the Congress and JDU are trying to forge unity ahead of next years Lok Sabha pollsIf rulers accept the policy of peacefulness and dialogue one can come up with a solution for any issue he said Today the situation in the country is really worryingrdquo said PawarHe cited the example of developments over the Babri Masjid issue when Chandra Shekhar was the prime minister The then PM called Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and me to find a way out over the Babri issue through dialogue While both Hindu and Muslim sides wanted to resolve it through talks the government collapsedrdquo he saidEarlier Pawar said they faced challenges while changing the name of the Aurangabadbased Marathwada University to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University It was first opposed and the government revoked the decision he said But later we reached out to students in several colleagues and implemented that decision because we had a dialogue with themrdquo Pawar saidThe NCP leader said rulers and administrators should work with the thinking that everyone is ours and deliver the message effectively Else wrong things will happen In the recent period such things are happening in many places Pawar saidHe also expressed concerns over attacks on Muslims and ChristiansAlso readBJP asks Congress to clarify its stand on cow slaughter issue in KarnatakaThe picture in the country today makes me worry about Muslims and Christians In many states churches are being attacked Christians are peaceful and they never take an extreme standrdquo he saidIf someone decides to embrace a different religion it is a personal call But some people attack their entire community Mistakes can be made by both Muslims as well as Hindus In our country the number of Muslims who are backward cannot be neglectedrdquo Pawar saidA section cant be ignored if society has to be taken on the path of development Though the common public thinks positively about Muslims some people focus on how to grow bitterness and hatred This is a big challenge for our countryrdquo he saidThe senior NCP leader rued that there has been a general decline in engaging in dialogue for parliamentary activities Earlier too he said political parties had differences but they tried to resolve them through dialogueI didnt understand why there was a need for a new Parliament building The decision about it could have been taken through dialogue with political parties But I learnt about the new building through newspapersrdquo he saidAs many as 20 Opposition parties stayed away from the inauguration of the new Parliament building which was done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28 The Congress accused the PM of treating the inauguration like a coronation Without naming anyone Pawar said ldquoKey persons from the government do not regularly attend Parliament sessions If the head of the government comes to Parliament someday that day feels different Parliament is above all If importance is not given to it peoples perception of it also gets impactedCalling himself the leader of a ldquosmall political partyrdquo in Parliament Pawar said ldquoWe opposition demanded to invite the President for the inaugural ceremony of the new Parliament building There was no need to oppose it by ruling BJP A photograph clicked after the first session of Parliament had many leaders of the country including Dr B R Ambedkar and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehrurdquo Pawar saidThe Opposition parties boycotted the event accusing the BJPled Centre of sidelining President Droupadi Murmu They insisted that the inauguration be done by President Murmu as she is the constitutional head of the countryPawar also alleged that elected leaders didnt get the chance to enter the new building first He said ldquoThe first photo of the new Parliament building that came out was not with the elected members but with people who were wearing saffron clothesrdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever