Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday met Gautam Adani in Ahmedabad as both of them were present at the inauguration of India's first Lactoferrin plant in Ahmedabad. Later, Pawar visited Adani's residence and office in Ahmedabad, reports said. "It was a privilege to inaugurate India's first Lactoferrin Plant Exympower in Vasna, Chacharwadi, Gujarat along with Mr Gautam Adani," Pawar posted on Twitter. The meeting comes amid Rahul Gandhi's continuous attack on Adani and at a time when the opposition bloc INDIA is preparing for a united fight against the BJP in the 2024 elections. Sharad Pawar is a key leader of the INDIA bloc and he was the host of the last meeting of the alliance in Mumbai.

Sharing the photos of the event which were posted by Sharad Pawar's handle only, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the picture speaks a thousand words but only if Rahul Gandhi is willing to listen to them. No one in the INDIA bloc takes Rahul Gandhi seriously, Poonawalla said.

"I just hope that Sharad Pawar ji won’t be abused by likes of Alka Lamba again merely because nobody in INDI Alliance takes @RahulGandhi or his utterances seriously. This picture speaks a thousand words provided Rahul Gandhi is willing to listen," Poonawalla tweeted.

This is not the first time that Sharad Pawar's closeness with Adani has come to light. In an interview early this year, Sharad Pawar opposed the opposition's demand for a joint parliamentary committee to probe the charges against the Adani Group and said he would favour a Supreme Court-monitored committee instead.

In his autobiography Lok Maze Saangati, Sharad Pawar described Gautam Adani as a hard-working, simple and down-to-earth person. It was at the insistence of Sharad Pawar that Gautam Adani ventured into the thermal power sector, Sharad Pawar wrote in his book recounting how Adani built his corporate empire starting from scratch.

culled from Hindustan Times