Sharad Pawar had his first brush with politics as a four-day-old infant

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar had his first brush with politics as a four-day-old baby. The former Union minister, who has completed 51 years in electoral politics, revealed this insight at a book release event on Tuesday evening. 

Pawar said that he was just four days old when his mother Shardabai, who was elected as chairperson of the local municipal works committee in Pune in 1938, carried him in a state transport bus to Pune where she was scheduled to cast her vote.

He shared that his mother Shardabai was the driving force behind her seven sons and four daughters. He said that she is the reason that all of her kids acquired graduate degrees in various disciplines like law, engineering, architecture, metallurgy and agronomy. 

The Marathi book, 'Mu Po Aai', edited by journalist Sandeep Kale, has articles by 30 Maharashtrian editors about their mothers. Pawar has penned the foreword for the tome.

Pawar also recalled that as Defence Minister he insisted on inducting women into armed forces despite repeated rebuffs from the three services chiefs to his plans.  

Read: Sharad Pawar Hits Out At Prime Minister Narendra Modi Over CBI Row

Earlier on Tuesday, Pawar hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over CBI row while he was interaction at a conclave in Mumbai. He said that said if the central government was "effective", there would not have been bribery charges at the highest level in the CBI. He also asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to act over the matter.

"The feud between Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Alok Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana turned murkier with the arrest of a deputy superintendent of police in the Special Investigation Team headed by Asthana over bribery charges". 

"His ministerial team does not have the capacity to deliver. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is the most powerful. All decisions are taken there and the files are sent to the ministers to sign. The present government does only 'man ki baat' and does not listen to 'jan ki baat' (people's voice)," he added.

Read: MASSIVE: CBI Director Alok Verma Sacked; Joint Director M Nageshwar Rao Steps In As Government Acts. All LIVE Updates Here- 

(With inputs from PTI)