Sonia should have made Pawar PM in 2004 instead of Manmohan if she was unwilling: Ramdas Athawale
Indore, Sep 25: Describing the foreign origin issue of Sonia Gandhi as meaningless, Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Saturday said if Indian-origin Kamala Harris can become vice president of the US then the Congress chief could also have become Prime Minister of India after the 2004 elections.
He also said if Sonia Gandhi was not willing to accept the PM's post at that time then she should have made veteran leader and NCP chief Sharad Pawar the PM instead of Manmohan Singh.
"When the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) got a majority in the 2004 elections, I had proposed that Sonia Gandhi should become Prime Minister. I was of the view that her foreign origin issue had no meaning, Athawale told reporters here.
If Kamala Harris can become Vice President of the US then why couldn't Sonia Gandhi, a citizen of India, wife of Rajiv Gandhi (former PM) and elected Lok Sabha MP, couldn't become the Prime Minister?" he asked.
Describing Pawar as a public leader and a deserving candidate for the PM's post, the RPI (A) chief said, He (Pawar) should have been made PM in place of Manmohan Singh but Sonia Gandhi did not do so .
Athawale also said had Pawar become the country's PM in 2004, the Congress' position would have been strengthened and that party could have been saved from its present precarious condition.
Pawar was expelled from Congress for raising the issue of Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin in 1999. He later formed the NCP.
Manmohan Singh had served as prime minister from 2004 to 2014. He was succeeded by Narendra Modi after the BJP came to power with a resounding majority.
Athawale also appealed to Amarinder Singh, who stepped down recently as Punjab chief minister owing to a power tussle in the state party unit, to join the BJP or the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in view of "humiliation" meted out to him by Congress.
"If Singh joins the BJP, the party's position will be strengthened in the upcoming Assembly elections in Punjab, he said.
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Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 100th Saudi Pro League goal
Riyadh (AP): Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th Saudi Pro League goal as Al-Nassr beat Al-Shabab 4-2 to move five points clear at the top of the table.
The 41-year-old forward converted a Sadio Mané cross at the near post with 15 minutes remaining to record the 971st goal of his career on Thursday. It was also his 26th league goal of the season.
“Ronaldo is always dangerous going forward and we saw that again today,” Al-Nassr coach Jorge Jesus said.
João Félix, signed from Chelsea in July, scored three goals for the league leaders.
The win took Al-Nassr to 82 points from 32 games, five ahead of Al-Hilal, which has three matches, one more than Nassr, left to play. Al-Hilal meets Al-Kholood on Friday and faces Nassr on Tuesday in what could be a title decider against its Riyadh rival.
“Now we have a derby match against our rival, which is a difficult encounter,” Jesus said.
“We are fully aware of its importance, and we are dealing with it with complete focus as we know that small details could decide the result.”
Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, has yet to secure a major trophy in Saudi Arabia since signing with Al-Nassr in December 2022.
