PUNE: Former Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said that political differences should be set aside when it comes to pursuing the agenda of development. He was speaking on the sidelines of the Navaratri festival organised by senior Congress corporator Aba Bagul in Shivdarshan on Saturday.

Pawar was accompanied by industrialist Vitthal Maniyar, NCP leaders and former Congress MLC Ulhas Pawar during his visit to the temple. Praising Bagul, who has been a corporator for past 30 years, Pawar said that now Bagul should be given an opportunity to serve as a public representative in Mumbai. “Bagul successfully executed several development projects imaginatively and he is an ideal public representative,” Pawar said.

Referring to the Kashi pilgrimage organised by Bagul, Pawar said Bagul should organise trips to other parts of the country like Jallianwala Bagh, Wagha border, etc. to make citizens of Pune understand the secular ideology in different parts of the country.