Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Monday said opposition stalwart Sharad Pawar sharing the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an award event in Pune was the NCP chief's personal decision.
The Lokmanya Tilak National Award, constituted by Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust in 1983 to honour the legacy of the legendary freedom fighter, will be conferred on PM Modi on Tuesday and Pawar has been invited as the chief guest.
Asked about Pawar attending the event and if allies were unhappy, Chavan told reporters in Satara that it was the former's personal decision.
The Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena (UBT) form the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra.
Chavan, however, sought to know why a PM was accepting an award from a private entity and asked if it was appropriate.
"I have not come across any sitting PM accepting an award from a private entity. It is misleading to say some earlier PMs have received this award. Indira Gandhi got it posthumously, Manmohan Singh got it when he was Union finance minister and Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he was an MP," Chavan claimed.
He added that it was the prerogative of the private entity to give its award as per its choice.
"Tilak was a great freedom fighter. He was linked to the Congress. Our contention is whether the PM should personally accept this award or not from a private entity," the Congress leader clarified.
He claimed Modi was silent on the violence in Manipur and said the Opposition parties had brought a no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha since the Centre had failed to stop the strife. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has admitted the no-confidence motion.
There must be an open discussion on the issue and PM Modi must start the discussion with his opening remarks, Chavan said.
"He should put forth facts in Parliament. Why is he running away," the former Maharashtra chief minister asked.
He said Vajpayee had toured Gujarat after the riots in 2002 and had asked the state leadership to follow 'raj dharma'.
Chavan also sought strict action against right wing activist Sambhaji Bhide, who is accused of making objectionable comments about Mahatma Gandhi during an event in Amravati on Thursday.
Speaking about the opposition bloc Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), Chavan said it would try to field a common candidate against the BJP in the upcoming elections.