A political uproar has erupted in Maharashtra following remarks made by Ruta Awhad, wife of Nationalist Congress Party — Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) leader Jitendra Awhad, who drew an inflammatory comparison between former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and terrorist Osama Laden during a public event.
Speaking in Thane on Thursday, Ruta Awhad maintained that 'bin Laden was not inherently a terrorist but was shaped by societal factors'.
In her speech, focused on the importance of education, she urged students to read bin Laden's biography to understand his transformation into a terrorist.
“You must read the biography of Osama bin Laden. How APJ Abdul Kalam became the president is similar to the way Osama bin Laden became a terrorist. But why did he become a terrorist? It was society that forced him to become that way,” she stated, a claim that has since ignited widespread outrage.
The comments swiftly attracted criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala condemned Awhad's remarks on X (formerly Twitter), accusing her of defending and glorifying bin Laden.
“NCP Sharad Pawar faction leader Jeetendra Awhad's wife defends and eulogises Osama bin Laden, compares him to A.P.J. Abdul Kalam! Says society made him a terrorist!” Poonawala wrote, highlighting the perceived hypocrisy of the opposition coalition.
Another BJP spokesperson, Pradip Bhandari, accused the opposition INDIA bloc, of which the NCP-SP is a part, of appeasement politics ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections. “In order to appease its Vote Bank, the INDI alliance & MVA have started a new strategy - Encourage wives of leaders to give statements that indicate soft support to terror!” he tweeted.
Neither Jitendra Awhad nor the NCP leadership has issued a response to the statement made by Ruta Awhad.
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