Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Opposition alliance INDIA leader Sharad Pawar, on Tuesday, shared a stage at an award ceremony in Pune. The prime minister, who arrived in Maharashtra today, was honoured with the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak National Award.
The prime minister and Sharad Pawar were also seen shaking hands at the award ceremony.
Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, and Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde also attended the award ceremony.
The Lokmanya Tilak National Award is given to people who have worked for the progress and development of the nation and whose contribution can only be looked upon as remarkable and extraordinary, the PIB statement said.
It is presented every year on August 1, the death anniversary of Lokmanya Tilak, the statement said.
Sharad Pawar’s attendance at the award ceremony was criticised by opposition parties such as Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT).
The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Tuesday said NCP chief Sharad Pawar could have turned his back on the event to clear doubts about him among those who have taken a dim view of it.
However, Pawar did not entertain requests from members of the opposition INDIA alliance to not share a stage with Modi. In addition, he did not meet some MPs who wanted to dissuade him from gracing the occasion.
