'Sharad Pawar's Rafale remark created misunderstanding'

Former Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) national general secretary Tariq Anwar on Friday said that he decided to resign from the party as the statement of party president Sharad Pawar on Rafale deal created a 'misunderstanding' among the people regarding the Opposition.

Talking to ANI post his resignation from the NCP, Anwar said that since his stand on the controversial Rafale fighter jet deal signed by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government was very clear, he did not want to go against Pawar and hence, decided to quit.

"The entire Opposition was united on the issue. But the statement of Sharad Pawar created a misunderstanding that the opposition is not united. My thought about the Rafale jet deal is very clear and going against the party leader would have been incorrect, so I resigned from my post," the former NCP leader said.

He even urged the Opposition to unite to dethrone Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the upcoming General Election scheduled for next year.

"Keeping in mind the current situation of the country, it is important for the Opposition to come together to remove Prime Minister Modi from his post," Anwar said.

Anwar resigned from the Lok Sabha and his party earlier in the day, citing Pawar's reported stand on the Rafale fight aircraft deal with France.

Pawar had earlier told a Marathi television channel that "people do not have doubts" over Prime Minister Modi's intention.

However, clearing the air on the same, Lok Sabha MP and Sharad Pawar's daughter, Supriya Sule, said that her father was misquoted by Marathi media outlets and rubbished the subsequent perception that saw the NCP and Sharad Pawar drift away from the opposition created against the BJP.