Shirul (Maharashtra): Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar, who stirred a hornet's nest by raking up the Congress President Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin, on October 12 reiterated that it would be the main issue for his party during the coming Assembly polls.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function of Manikchand Group of Industries in Shirul, Pawar made it clear that the NCP has not given up the issue or diluted its stand.

"Due to compulsions, the party had to forge an alliance with Congress in Maharashtra, but at the national level both the parties reserve the right to criticise one another", he added.

PTI