BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde on Wednesday hits out at NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar saying the country knows that during his time, Mumbai was being run by dons like Dawood and his henchmen used to travel in his (Pawar) helicopter.

Tawde was responding to Sharad Pawar’s 'tadipaar' remark about Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The exchange began after Amit Shah accused Pawar of engaging in 'politics of betrayal' since 1978.

Both Tawde and Shah described Pawar as a 'betrayer' in an apparent reference to his walking out of the Vasantdada Patil-led government in 1978 with 40 MLAs and becoming the chief minister of Maharashtra.

In response, Pawar pointed out that Shah is the only Union Home minister to have faced externment, referring to his two-year banishment from Gujarat in 2010 during the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case.

However, Tawde quickly took to social media to challenge Pawar’s statements and question his credibility. Referring to historical figures, Tawde asked, “If Veer Savarkar, who endured two life sentences and Kala Pani imprisonment, had become a minister, would Pawar have made the same remarks about him?”

He went on to highlight the controversial episode involving Dawood Ibrahim’s associates traveling in a helicopter linked to a former chief minister. “Would Pawar dare to question Maharashtra’s ideals when such incidents occurred under his watch?” Tawde asked.

Tawde directly questioned Pawar on X, asking, “Would you have criticised leaders like Atal Behari Vajpayee and LK Advani, who were jailed during the Emergency, but later became ministers and even Prime Minister, in the same way?” He called on Pawar to clarify his stance to the people of Maharashtra.