Pawar used the first Maha CM’s name for his own gain: Boonsle

Kolhapur: BJP Rajya Sabha MP and party candidate for Satara, Udayanraje Bhonsle, has said that he would bring up the issue of Bharat Ratna with Maharashtra’s first chief minister, Yashwantrao Chavan, before Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the latter’s April 29 visit to Karad.

Born in the Devarashtre neighborhood of Satara district (now in Sangli district), Chavan took part in the Indian independence struggle before joining the Congress and rising to become the state’s first chief minister.

He is credited with founding modern-day Maharashtra. He was also Choudhary Charan Singh’s deputy prime minister.

Karpoori Thakur, the former chief minister of Bihar, was awarded Bharat Ratna by the Center prior to the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls.

Bhonsle, who is also the thirteenth descendent of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, took aim at the Satara Congress and indirectly at Sharad Pawar, who was close to Yashwantrao Chavan. He said that Chavan’s name was used by the Congress to get votes. In Satara, people still revere Chavan, and Sharad Pawar’s party has never lost a seat there.

But Congress never adopted Chavan’s philosophy, which was influenced by Shivaji Maharaj’s welfare state. His ideas were never embraced by Congress. “I will demand that PM Modi give Yashwantrao Chavan the highest civilian award on April 29,” Bhonsle said.

He said that Sharad Pawar, who is regarded as Yashwantrao Chavan’s ideological successor, had used his name for personal gain. Bhonsle, who is facing Shashikant Shinde of the NCP (SCP), stated, “The question should be posed as to why the thought of conferring Bharat Ratna to Yashwantrao Chavan never crossed his mind.”
A political party’s platform cannot include a demand such as Bharat Ratna, according to Jayant Patil of the NCP (SCP).