"Banished from Gujarat": Sharad Pawar Hits Out at Amit Shah's "Kingpin of Corruption" Jibe, Reminds Him of Supreme Court's Gujarat Ban

Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar on Saturday took a jab at Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his "Kingpin of Corruption" comment. The NCP Chief drew attention to Shah's personal history, pointedly mentioning the Supreme Court enforced two-year exile from Gujarat due to his involvement in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case.

"A few days ago, Home Minister Amit Shah attacked me and called me a few things. He called me the commander of all the corrupt people in the country," Pawar retorted, addressing the allegations. "Strangely, the Home Minister is a person who misused the law of Gujarat and for this, the Supreme Court banished him from Gujarat," he added.

Amit Shah, formerly embroiled in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh Encounter case, faced a Supreme Court-directed expulsion from Gujarat for two years, eventually acquitted in 2014.

"The one who was banished is the Home Minister. So, we should think about where we are headed...The way the people in whose hands this country is, are taking the wrong path, we should think about it; or else, I am 100% confident that they will take the country on the wrong path. We must pay attention to this," added the NCP Chief.

Shah had accused Pawar of institutionalizing corruption during a BJP Conclave in Pune on July 21. "They (the opposition) are speaking about corruption. The biggest kingpin of corruption in Indian politics is Sharad Pawar and I have no confusion in that," said Shah. "If somebody has done the job of institutionalizing corruption, Sharad Pawar, it is you," he added.

The political landscape in Maharashtra, gearing up for Assembly Elections later this year, remains tense with the ruling Mayahuti alliance comprising BJP, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s NCP. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition counters with Congress, Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, and NCP (SP).​