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Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, who had recently deprecated Narendra Modi's condemnation over Gujarat riots, on Saturday took a U-turn and targeted BJP's prime minister candidate for "mass murder", drawing sharp criticism from the opposition party.
"The chief minister of a neighbouring state speaks about his development agenda... What is development?... Is it bringing all-round development in the lives of the poor and bringing smile on their faces? They speak of changing the face of the country but the entire country has seen how mass murders took place," Pawar said addressing a meeting to discuss the status of minorities, without naming Modi.
Pawar slammed Modi's development model and accused him of ignoring certain sections of the society.
"These people are asking for complete power... But their attitude is to ignore certain sections of the society," the union agriculture minister said.
Pawar had recently said there was no need for a debate on the 2002 Gujarat riots after courts had ruled on Modi's role during the communal conflagration. "If courts have given their verdict, then the question of holding a debate on it does not arise. We accept the court's order and there won't be any debate on it," Pawar had said.
