“Supriya & we will take care of the country”, Modi tells Pawar, while enquiring about his ill health

PABITRA BANERJEE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday telephoned NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar to enquire about his health following the veteran leader’s discharge from Pune’s Ruby Hall Clinic, and told him that his daughter Supriya Sule was “ready” to take care of the country along with him, according to Pawar’s close aide Vitthal Maniyar.”This morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called to enquire about Saheb’s health. He spoke to Saheb with great affection and respect and said, ‘Saheb, please take complete rest. Supriya is ready now. Supriya and we will take care of the country. You rest; this is my request,'” Maniyar told reporters in Pune.Pawar replied that he was resting and had no worries about the country, Maniyar said. “Saheb told him, ‘I am resting, and when all of you are there, I have no worries about the country. You keep working.’ Saheb thanked him for enquiring about his health,” Maniyar said.The warm exchange between the two leaders cuts across political divides following 85-year-old Sharad Pawar’s brief hospitalization for age-related routine checkups and minor health concerns. The phone call and the Prime Minister’s gracious endorsement of Supriya Sule—the sitting Member of Parliament from Baramati and national working president of NCP (SP)—have drawn significant political attention across Maharashtra political circles. The gesture highlights the deep personal rapport shared between PM Modi and the veteran opposition patriarch despite their sharp political rivalries on the ground.