Congress-mukt Bharat not possible: Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Wednesday visited the Congress office in Pune for the first time after he quit the Grand Old Party 23 years ago.

The country can not be made "Congress-Mukt" as its contribution and ideology can not be ignored, he said as he visited the Congress Bhavan here to attend a program organized on the party's foundation day.

"Some people demand a 'Congress-mukt Bharat', but the country cannot be made Congress-free, it is not possible," he said, without naming the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"The ideology and contribution of the Congress cannot be ignored. There will be differences about policies, but we will move ahead with the Congress party," he said.

Pawar, who started his political career as a young Congress worker from Pune district, reminisced that he visited Congress Bhavan for the first time in 1958.

He left the party in 1999 and formed his own outfit, though later he forged an alliance with the Congress.

"Congress had many leaders from Pune during that time. It was like Pune means Congress, and Congress means Pune," the former Maharashtra chief minister and Union minister said.

"Congress Bhavan in Pune was the centre of the party since India got independence. The administration of Maharashtra functioned from this building. From here, Congress leaders convinced (then prime minister) Jawaharlal
Nehru through Indira Gandhi, and Samyukta Maharashtra (Maharashtra with Mumbai as its capital) was formed," Pawar said.

The current rulers of the country are misusing their power and the opposition will have take on them with unity, he said.