Athawale said he was willing to speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and mediate between him and Hardik Patel. 

Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats, of which the BJP and its allies had won 73 in the 2014 parliamentary elections.

Athawale was referring to the recent attack on Dalits in Pune who were celebrating 200 years of the victory of British troops over Peshwa Bajirao II's Army in Koregaon Bhima.

Dalits commemorate the British victory over the Peshwa's army at Bhima-Koregaon in 1818 as it is believed that soldiers from the Mahar community were part of the East India Company's forces.

Athawale said the demand for the reservation for Dalits has been his party's demand for a long time and he would soon speak to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman about it.

"Everybody in the country has a right to eat beef. The gau rakshaks have the right to lodge a police complaint... However, they don't have the authority to take the law in their hands," Athawale said.

It was for the second time that Athwale advised Pawar to join NDA if he was keen on occupying the highest constitutional post in the country.

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale today said that though he is in favour of a ban on cow slaughter, it should not be extended to other species of cattle.

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