PUNE: Veteran politician and NCP (SP) Sharad Pawar held a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday, a day after visiting Jantar Mantar and meeting the protesters of Cockroach Janata Party.Sharad Pawar’s daughter and NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule was also present at the meeting on Wednesday morning.While NCP (SP) has not officially conveyed the details of the meeting, the timing of the meeting is considered to be crucial against the backdrop of the ongoing protest by CJP and opposition parties demanding Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resign.A day before meeting the Prime Minister, Sharad Pawar visited the protest site and met CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke.Following the meeting, the veteran politician said that his party would be raising the issue highlighted by the protesters in the ongoing Parliament session and he would also be taking the initiative to establish the dialogue between the Centre and the govt.Speaking about the meeting between PM Modi and Pawar, NCP (SP) national spokesperson Anish Gawande told TOI, “The details of the meeting are not yet out, but given the sensitive nature of the ongoing protest in the national capital, Pawar Saheb has already said that he would be taking initiative to resolve the issue. He must have raised the Jantar Mantar protest issue in his meeting with the Prime Minister, and since he is the most experienced politician, we are hopeful that the Prime Minister would take his advice seriously.”Before the start of the Parliament session, the speculations were rife that NCP (SP) was tilting towards NDA when Supriya hinted that her party would consider supporting the delimitation bill if the Lok Sabha seats are increased by 50% in every state.However, during the ongoing CJP protest, the party’s leadership is seen protesting the Centre over the violence during the protest on Monday.While Pawar met PM Modi on Wednesday, NCP (SP) claimed that no political discussion was held between the two politicians.Maharashtra chief of NCP (SP) Shashikant Shinde said, “Pawar Saheb has supported the CJP protest and he must have gone to meet the Prime Minister to convey the protesters’ demand. I do not think there was any political discussion during that meeting.”
