Sharad Pawar

"He further said, “A Hindu is a Hindu only in Hindu-Muslim riots. On 15th August and 26th January, he becomes an Indian. Otherwise, he becomes Marathi, Gujarati, etc. When you go into the states Hindus get divided into castes. And in Maharashtra, this politics of dividing Hindus into castes has picked up pace after Sharad Pawar formed Nationalist Congress Party in 1999. When we are going to unite as Hindus?”"

"This appears to be a pattern: whenever Muslim riots or bomb attacks target Hindus, it is thought acceptable to accuse the victims, in order to avoid possible revolts. Thus in 1993 in Mumbai, after eleven coordinated bomb blasts in Hindu majority areas, which killed 257 people and injured 713, the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Sharad Pawar quickly cooked up a twelfth explosion ... in a Muslim area! “I have deliberately misled people,” he explained later, to show that both communities had been affected.” And to portray both communities’ potential to behave as “terrorists”. Truth and clarity of mind are the casualties."

"After the attack, CM Pawar announced that the blasts had occurred in 13 places, though in real, there had been 12 blasts in total that day. So, why did the chief minister lie? Pawar made a call to tell this lie after he found out that all of the 12 blasts had occurred in Hindu-dominated areas. In an attempt to keep communal violence at bay, Pawar had hurried to the Doordarshan studios and announced that blasts had occurred at 13 places in the city. The 13th place, he named, was Musjid Bunde, a Muslim-dominated locality. Later, when Pawar accepted his lie, he was praised by the Justice Srikrishna Commission."

"Perhaps the only surprise to come out of Pawar's deposition was that he reinforced, though inadvertently, the belief that politicians cannot always be trusted to tell the truth in times of crisis. Pawar told the commission that, following the serial bomb blasts which shattered the city's fragile peace in March 1993, he deliberately lied to the public. He said that in a bid to avert another round of Hindu-Muslim rioting, he had dubbed the blasts as the handiwork of the LTTE. The morality of the statement can be debated endlessly, but the fact remains that he misled the public."

"The blasts, which left 357 people dead and 717 others injured, actually occurred at only 11 places. However, then chief minister Sharad Pawar told the nation that the blasts had occurred at 12 places. This admission came on Sunday from Pawar himself. He said he deliberately lied that the blasts had occurred at 12 places. He was speaking during the 89th edition of the All India Marathi Literary Meet at Dnyanaba-Tukaram Nagari (Hindustan Antibiotics Ground), Pimpri, 15 km from Pune. Pawar said that he did so in the larger interest of the public, and, for that lie, he was even praised by the Justice Srikrishna Commission. He then described the sequence of events. On March 12, 1993, he came to learn from officials that all the 11 blasts had occurred in Hindu-dominated areas. Since it was Pakistan’s plan to foment communal violence, the then chief minister immediately rushed to the Doordarshan studios and announced that blasts had occurred at 12 places in what was then Bombay. The 12th place where Pawar ‘exploded’ the bomb was Masjid Bunder. After this announcement, Hindus and Muslims thought that the blasts were not targeted at any particular community and the government was able to restore normal life fast, Pawar said. In fact, after the serial blasts on Friday, Bombay returned to normalcy on Monday itself, he said. 77“When you are running a state or when you are part of the administration, you are required to lie at times for the larger public interest,” Pawar said. 77When the Justice Srikrishna Commission asked him about the Masjid Bandar blast, Pawar explained the circumstances.The commission even lauded him for the same, he said. That’s one bomb that saved so many lives."