Sonia Gandhi should have made Sharad Pawar Prime Minister, not Manmohan Singh: Minister

Bombay:

Sonia Gandhi should have been prime minister when the congressional-led UPA came to power in 2004, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale said, making a comparison with US Vice President Kamala Harris. He also suggested that Sonia Gandhi should have chosen Sharad Pawar as prime minister instead of Manmohan Singh.

“Sonia Gandhi should have been Prime Minister when the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) came to power. If Kamala Harris can become Vice President of the United States, why can’t Sonia Gandhi become Prime Minister? (She) is an Indian citizen, wife of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and member of Lok Sabha, “Ramdas Athawale said on Saturday, quoted by ANI news agency.

The BJP ally said any discussion of Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin was “meaningless”.

“When the UPA won the majority in the 2004 elections, I proposed that Sonia Gandhi become prime minister. I was of the opinion that her question of foreign origin made no sense,” Athawale said. to journalists in Indore.

Mr Athawale, known for his unfiltered comments, also said that if Sonia Gandhi did not want the top post at the time, she should have chosen Sharad Pawar.

“Pawar should have been appointed Prime Minister in place of Manmohan Singh but Sonia Gandhi did not,” said the Union Minister.

According to Mr Athawale – who is the only ally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the central government led by the BJP – if Mr Pawar had been prime minister in 2004, Congress would have been in a stronger position and not would not have been in the mess it is in now.

Manmohan Singh was prime minister for 10 years before the BJP led by Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.

Mr Pawar, a former congress leader, was kicked out of the party when he rebelled against Sonia Gandhi’s leadership because of his foreign background. In 1999, he separated from Congress and formed its Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The NCP and Congress have since conducted several elections together as allies and currently share power in Maharashtra with the Shiv Sena. Mr. Athavale is also from Maharashtra.