On Wednesday evening, 21 February, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) head Raj Thackeray interviewed the Maratha strongman and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar. The interview was held in Pune at Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce, where Pawar was a student from 1958 to 1964. It was conducted as a mega-event by Jagtik Marathi Academy. The interview generated great interest among political observes in Maharashtra as the flamboyant Raj Thackeray questioned the calculated Sharad Pawar.

This is not the first time that the two political stalwarts have shared the stage. Raj Thackeray was one of the speakers on Sharad Pawar’s 75th Birthday celebration. But this was perhaps the first time that the head of one political party was interviewing the supremo of another political outfit. The interview did produce some interesting quotes from both Thackeray and Pawar. Here are the top five ones:

When Raj Thackeray asked Pawar that had he ever faced trouble for speaking truth and how difficult it is to do so, Pawar replied by saying that “One has to speak truth in politics. But one also has to be careful if the truth can hurt someone and one should learn where to draw the boundary in speaking the truth if it can hurt someone or somebody’s sentiments.”

When asked about the decline of Congress and chances of Rahul Gandhi in politics, Pawar said that “Even though the Congress is considerably weakened over the years, Rahul Gandhi has shown willingness to learn and engage with the people. If the people support him, the Congress can be revived and the fact is that a strong opposition is required to strengthen democracy,” reported PTI.

Talking about his famous political acumen, Pawar added that “When I took admission to this college, some students who were from Pune made fun of me for coming from rural area. But slowly, I made a name for myself by getting elected as a student representative in the first year and became the general secretary in the final year.”

Pawar also spoke about the change in language of political discourse and said that “The kind of personal attack that we see in politics today is really sad. It is alright to comment on or criticise someone but one should also be open to idea of others and tolerable of opposing and different political ideology.”

Earlier, before questioning Pawar, Raj Thackeray explained how it was a big moment for him. He said, “I have got an exam pad with me because for me, interviewing Sharad Pawar Saheb is like an examination”.

The politicians also spoke about various topics from fields such as literature, art and music. However, the highlight of the interview was when Raj Thackeray asked Sharad Pawar to choose between him and Uddhav Thackeray. Pawar answered promptly, “Thackeray Family”, which got great applause from the audience. It was surely a one-of-its-kind event which gave the audience and public a chance to know more about their politicians.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 22, 2018 02:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).