Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Friday slammed the BJP for terming the opposition bloc INDIA “ghamandia” and said that the jibe smacks of the ruling party’s arrogance.

Addressing a press conference after the conclusion of the two-day meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) here, Pawar asked, “Who is a ghamandia… those who don’t even like us meeting and interacting.” The former Union minister said the INDIA alliance has offered a credible alternative to the country's people.

“We will never do anything wrong. We will try to bring those taking the wrong side on the right path. But we won’t hesitate to sideline those who refuse to take the right path,” Pawar said.

While working in politics, Pawar said, one needs to keep their feet firmly on the ground. “But the BJP seems to have forgotten this and called us ghamandia. In a democracy, meetings and interactions over programmes and policies are necessary,” he said.

Earlier, calling the bloc “ghamandia alliance”, the BJP had said it was a selfish grouping. It alleged that leaders like Sonia Gandhi and Lalu Prasad Yadav were more likely to be driven by the future of their children in politics than the country’s development.

Pawar said the alliance leaders discussed serious issues concerning the country and their future strategy.

“Each state has different issues. Farmers, workers and youths also have different sets of problems. People are not happy with the BJP government,” he said.

Pawar said 68 leaders from 28 political parties attended the meeting at Grand Hyatt.

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