Narendra Modi is insensitive, fascist: Sharad Pawar

PUNE: Sharad Pawar on Saturday launched a scathing attack on BJP's prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, calling him an "insensitive person" who didn't even bother to meet the 2002 riot-affected Muslim families and offer sympathy to them.
The NCP honcho also said that Modi has held his party to ransom and "wants to destroy all democratic institutions in the nation". Calling Modi a "fascist", Pawar said divisive tendencies will be on the rise if Modi becomes PM.
The NCP chief said Modi slapped notices on co-operatives in Gujarat for providing relief to Maharashtra during drought. "His tendency is harmful for the integrity of the nation," he said.
"Twenty people, including a Congress MP, were charred to death in Ahmedabad in a cruel manner. I am not putting onus of this on him (Modi), but what about humanity? As the chief minister of the state, Modi should have visited Muslim families who lost their members in the riots. This incident reflects the mindset of this person. The case of Gujarat killings is once again in court, but people have to think about this and stop fascist Modi from coming to power," thundered Pawar while addressing party workers here.
Pawar said that never in this country election was contested projecting one person as a prime ministerial candidate. "It is a tradition that elected members select their leader who then becomes prime minister. "But he (Modi) has deprived his party MPs of this right. He has held his own party to ransom. This is the beginning of a dictatorial regime," he said, adding that even Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee had never projected themselves as prime ministerial candidates.
"Listen to his speeches. He stoops low to target Rahul, Sonia and the Prime Minister. He has taken a stand to destroy democratic institutions in the country," said Pawar.
Mocking Modi for wrong historical references in his speeches, Pawar said that during a recent visit to Gandhi's Sevagram Ashram in Wardha, Modi said Gandhi gave the slogan of Quit India Movement from Wardha. "The slogan was given at Gowalia Tank and not in Wardha. Are we going to hand over the reins of the nation to a person who is not even aware of India's history," asked Pawar.
Electronic media giving paid publicity to Modi: Pawar
Sharad Pawar on Saturday alleged that the electronic media was giving paid publicity to Modi. "India has seen tall leaders and prime ministers like Nehru, Indira, Rajiv and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. I have never seen a live telecast of political speeches in the past. I have never seen live speeches by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or Sonia Gandhi on any channel. Today, all his (Modi's) speeches are going live on channels," said Pawar, adding, "The only meaning of this is that there is an effort to dominate politics using money bags."
Vishwajeet Kadam is not an outsider: Pawar
Sharad Pawar on Saturday appealed to NCP-Congress workers to work hard and ensure victory of Congress's Pune Lok Sabha candidate Vishwajet Kadam. "Some people are saying that Kadam is an outsider as he is not from Pune. But many leaders, including Mohan Dharia, Kakasaheb Gadgil and S M Joshi, came from outside Pune and the city accepted them. Even Suresh Kalmadi was an outsider when he joined politics, but we accepted him. So why Kadam should be targeted," he asked.