Gadkari not afraid to speak if something wrong, says Sharad Pawar

NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar praised Union Minister Nitin Gadkari for not being afraid to express his views, even when they may contradict his own party's position.

Speaking on Gadkari's earlier remark on "Indians' love for freebies" on some government scheme, Pawar on Friday noted that Gadkari consistently addresses the implications of such schemes.

He recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had previously also referred to some initiatives as "Rewari culture," indicating a similar perspective towards such schemes.

"Nitin Gadkari has a speciality that if he feels something is wrong, he does not hesitate to speak about it, even if it is against his own government... He has a clear opinion about such schemes and he keeps talking about it again and again. It is not just Gadkari who speaks like this about these schemes, but once I heard that the Prime Minister was also saying something similar, not recently. He called these schemes Rewari culture," Pawar said.

"Gadkari also speaks on these issues in the same way with more clarity and when he says this, the reason behind it is that he has more knowledge about many things from the administrative point of view and in my opinion, it is right for him to speak on these subjects," he added.

Regarding infrastructural development, Pawar highlighted Gadkari's role in improving road development across India and stated that since Gadkari became the Union Minister of road transport and highways, he had been responsible for road construction and made significant progress in Maharashtra and across the country.

Pawar acknowledged that Gadkari's decision-making process prioritises national benefit over party politics, leading to enhanced road networks.

"Today, work on many important roads is going on in Maharashtra and ever since Gadkari has become the minister of that department, the roads have developed a lot in the whole country. His approach in this regard is very legal. While taking a decision about any work, he does not think about which party's work it is, but thinks and takes a decision on the basis of the benefit to the whole country," he said.

Pawar noted the visibility of improved roads in various regions, including Paltan, and expressed hope that the focus on road development would continue.