Mumbai: The Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar said that when he was the Union Minister for Agriculture (2004-2014), he had helped Narendra Modi, who was then the Gujarat Chief Minister, a lot with the agricultural crisis in his state.
Pawar said that on one occasion, the then Gujarat CM called him and said he wanted to visit Israel to study the unique farming techniques there.
“He used to come to me with the problems of the agriculture sector and even took me to Gujarat. Once he wanted to visit Israel so I took him there also. Whatever Modi says now I am not concerned,” said Pawar.
Later Modi became the first Indian PM to visit Israel in July 2017 since India's Independence.
The NCP (SP) supremo's reaction came after PM Modi accused Sharad Pawar -- without taking his name -- of doing nothing for the farmers when he was the Union Agriculture Minister.
IANS with edits