Tariq Anwar quits NCP over Pawar’s dalliance with BJP

Former unionminister and NCP leader Tariq Anwar quit NCP over Sharad Pawar’s proximity with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking with WION Anwar said that Sharad Pawar’s statement in support of the Prime Minister on Rafale is not acceptable.

“Lot of mixed signals were coming from the party. People had started to say that NCP can go with BJP anytime. We also initially supported BJP in Maharashtra,” said Tariq Anwar. He also said that he respects NCP President Sharad Pawar but ideology cannot be diluted before the elections when a united Opposition is trying to mount a challenge against Narendra Modi.

When asked about his future, he said, "All options are open.”

Tariq Anwar also said that party was giving out mixed signals to the electorate on the side which it might take and that was not acceptable to him.

Tariq Anwar started his career with the Congress Party. He quit Congress Party with Sharad Pawar and PA Sangama on Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin in 1999.

All three of them to found NCP which subsequently aligned with Congress to defeat BJP in 2004. Tariq Anwar remained associated with Sharad Pawar for more than 2 decades.

He in his career been elected to both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Congress has been very aggressive on the Rafale deal and using it as a principle plank to target and attack BJP on the issue of corruption.

The issue personally has been addressed in public domain number of times by Congress President Rahul Gandhi himself. Tariq Anwar was elected to Lok Sabha from Katihar in Bihar in 1980 on a Congress ticket.