New Delhi: A day after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar ‘defected’, party chief Sharad Pawar Monday asserted that he will ‘rebuild the party.’

“Today, in Maharashtra and the country, a rift is being created between the society in the name of caste and religion by some groups… My fight is against communal forces, I will rebuild the party,” said Pawar.

Responding to the crack in his party where a chunk of MLAs followed Ajit Pawar to join the state government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Sharad Pawar said, “Attempts are being made to create communal divide in Maharashtra and the country. We need to fight forces that create fear among peace-loving citizens… We need to protect democracy in the country.”

The NCP chief lashed out at the pattern of breaking government after people’s mandate and said, “The Madhya Pradesh government was overthrown. A government was brought there to encourage caste tendencies. Such efforts are also being made in Delhi, Punjab, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Himachal and southern states.”

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“In the state of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Shahu Maharaj, Jyotirao Phule, Babasaheb Ambedkar and Yashwantrao Chavan attempts have been made to destabilise a democratically functioning,”  he added.

We serving Maharashtra under Uddhav Thackeray but our government was toppled by some people. The same happened in some other parts of the nation too: NCP President Sharad Pawar, in Karad, Satara pic.twitter.com/e3ZG9r29tn

— ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2023

The NCP chief made the statement while he was visiting the memorial of his mentor and Maharashtra’s first chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan in Karad today. He also paid floral tributes to him.

#WATCH | NCP chief Sharad Pawar reaches Yashwantrao Chavan Samadhi in Karad, Maharashtra. pic.twitter.com/5l5tFz1hxc

— ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2023