NCP leader Tariq Anwar quits after Sharad Pawar defends PM Modi

New Delhi: A day after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar spoke in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the ongoing Rafale controversy, general secretary Tariq Anwar resigned from the party and from his Lok Sabha seat, Katihar, on Friday. Speaking to reporters in Katihar on Friday, Anwar said he was hurt by the comments made by Pawar in support of the stand of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on the Rafale fighter jet deal. “NCP President Sharad Pawar gave a statement to a Marathi news channel in which he said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot be doubted on the Rafale deal. I do not agree with the statement. The NCP has been facing allegations by other opposition parties that it has tried to help the BJP in the past. At a time when the entire opposition is demanding a joint parliamentary committee on the Rafale deal and there is a general perception that some corruption has happened and the NDA tried to help its businessmen friends, I do not agree with the stand of the NCP. So, I decided to resign from all posts of the party as well as from my Lok Sabha seat,” said Anwar. In an interview to a Marathi news channel, Pawar said people did not have any doubt about the intention of the Prime Minister but the arguments presented by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in support of the Rafale deal had led to confusion in the minds of people. “I don’t think people have doubts about Modi’s intentions personally. Now, (Union Finance Minister Arun) Jaitley can be seen articulating (the government’s stand) on the issue (instead of Sitharaman),” Pawar told a Marathi news channel in an interview. The Congress, along with several opposition parties, is spearheading a demand to constitute a JPC probe into the Rafale deal and party president Rahul Gandhi has made direct allegations against Modi. Source: LiveMint