Supriya Sule with her father and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Sule is a Lok Sabha member from Pune’s Baramati. (File) Supriya Sule with her father and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Sule is a Lok Sabha member from Pune’s Baramati. (File)

NCP chief Sharad Pawar Monday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had offered to make his daughter Supriya Sule a minister in the Union cabinet but he had refused.

In an interview with a Marathi TV channel, Pawar, while rejecting reports that the Modi government had offered to make him the President, said, “But there surely was an offer to make Supriya (Sule) a minister in the Modi-led cabinet.” Sule is a Lok Sabha member from Pune’s Baramati.

Pawar’s revelation comes in the wake of his party’s decision to ally with Shiv Sena, which ditched ally BJP for rejecting its demand for rotational chief ministership, and forming a government in Maharashtra.

Pawar had met Modi in Delhi last month amid a see-saw battle over government formation in Maharashtra, which saw BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis taking over as Chief Minister in a hush-hush affair only to resign within 80 hours.

The NCP supremo said he made it clear to Modi that it won’t be possible for him to work together with the PM. “Modi told me that my political experience would be helpful for him to run the government. We both share similar opinions on some national issues, hence he made the offer,” Pawar said.

“I told him that our personal relations are very good and they will remain that way but it is not possible for me to work together,” Pawar added.

However, Pawar said he had assured the Prime Minister that he would cooperate with the Central government whenever needed. “Despite sitting in opposite rows in Parliament, will not oppose you for the sake of opposition. My cooperation will be there whenever needed,” Pawar said.

PM Modi has praised the veteran NCP leader on several occasions and even refrained from attacking Pawar during campaigning for Maharashtra Assembly elections.

In his latest praise for Pawar, Modi, while speaking on the occasion of 250th Rajya Sabha session, said other parties, including the BJP, should learn from the NCP on how to stick to parliamentary norms.

(With inputs from PTI)

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