BJP showing arrogance of power, common man can teach a lesson: Pawar

NCP president Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the BJP was displaying the arrogance of power just because of its majority in Parliament and its days could be numbered if the common man united against it

Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the Bharatiya Janata Party was displaying the arrogance of power just because of its majority in Parliament and its days could be numbered if the common man united against it.

Addressing party workers in Dhule, some 325 kilometres from here, Pawar said there was a legend about the sun never setting on the British Empire, but it collapsed when the common man united.

"Similarly, the common man has the capacity to teach the BJP a lesson for displaying arrogance of power," Pawar said.

Referring to the tussle between BJP MPs and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in the Lok Sabha over a remark by the latter's colleague Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury against President Droupadi Murmu, the NCP chief slammed the behaviour of the ruling party parliamentarians.

Gandhi had just gone across to a BJP MP to ask why her name was being dragged over remarks made by a colleague, but she was heckled.

"The concerned MP used a wrong word for the President and apologized after realising his mistake. But the BJP wanted Sonia Gandhi to apologise. She was heckled by BJP MPs and ministers. It was our MP (daughter Supriya Sule) who escorted her out till her vehicle. Otherwise something could have happened there," Pawar told party workers.

"Such is the arrogance of power of the BJP that they can take extreme steps if they do not agree with you," the NCP chief claimed.

Slamming Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Pawar said the former did not allow the Assembly speaker's election for the past two years but allowed it in two days after the new government took over.

"If such is the conduct of the governor, then what will happen to democracy? It is our duty to protect democracy and the Constitution at any cost," Pawar asserted.