Pawar under fire from friends and foes
Union agriculture minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar seems to have become a common target for both the Congress and the BJP in Maharashtra.
By TNN |
MUMBAI: Union agriculture minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar seems to have become a common target for both the Congress and the BJP in Maharashtra. The agrarian crisis in Vidarbha and the wheat import issue have provided the parties with enough firepower to attack Mr Pawar. On Monday, state Congress president Prabha Rau had criticised the Union agriculture minister for claiming that the number of farm suicides in Vidarbha had gone down.
Now, the BJP also plans to go after Mr Pawar. The party is coming out with a booklet drafted by former member of parliament Kirit Somaiya on the wheat import scam, on Wednesday.
This is certainly not the first time that Mr Pawar has drawn flak during his tenure as the agriculture minister. However, the criticism this time is more calculated and planned, say Congress and BJP insiders.
"Mr Pawar has been at the helm of farm affairs for almost three years. In these three years, the situation has gone from bad to worse while Mr Pawar has been busy with cricket. It’s certainly not a good advertisement either for Mr Pawar or for the UPA government," said a senior Congress leader from the state. He pointed out that Mr Pawar has not even bothered to visit Vidarbha. "He accompanied the prime minister last year because that was politically expedient," the Congress functionary said.
The state Congress president's criticism of the interest waiver announced by the state and the Centre is also being attributed to the Congress-NCP feud. "It’s an open secret that almost all district co-operative banks are controlled by the NCP. The very purpose of criticising the interest waiver was to expose the NCP and, in particular, Mr Pawar, who is believed to have prevailed upon the Centre to announce an interest waiver," said a state Congress functionary.
A Congress delegation led by Ms Rau that called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Mumbai last week had listed out a number of issues in which questions could be raised over the NCP’s role. For example, state satraps of the Congress told the prime minister that Vidarbha was still being subjected to load shedding, even though the region has abundant coal reserves. The sate power ministry is held by the NCP’s Dilip Valse-Patil.
On the other hand, the BJP is gunning for Mr Pawar on the wheat import issue. Not long back, senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde had taken on Mr Pawar on the sugar crisis in Maharashtra. Interestingly, state BJP president Nitin Gadkari had also claimed some months back that the interest waiver announced by the state for Vidarbha farmers had only helped the NCP-controlled district banks.
Sources said both the Congress and the BJP are also wary of the Shiv Sena’s growing proximity to the NCP and Mr Pawar.
"We are particularly upset with the Sena’s stand that it supports Mr Pawar as the prime ministerial candidate. We want to educate the Sena, if it still does not know, about Mr Pawar’s utterly inept performance as agriculture minister before it throws its weight behind him for the top job," said a BJP functionary.
Now, the BJP also plans to go after Mr Pawar. The party is coming out with a booklet drafted by former member of parliament Kirit Somaiya on the wheat import scam, on Wednesday.
This is certainly not the first time that Mr Pawar has drawn flak during his tenure as the agriculture minister. However, the criticism this time is more calculated and planned, say Congress and BJP insiders.
"Mr Pawar has been at the helm of farm affairs for almost three years. In these three years, the situation has gone from bad to worse while Mr Pawar has been busy with cricket. It’s certainly not a good advertisement either for Mr Pawar or for the UPA government," said a senior Congress leader from the state. He pointed out that Mr Pawar has not even bothered to visit Vidarbha. "He accompanied the prime minister last year because that was politically expedient," the Congress functionary said.
The state Congress president's criticism of the interest waiver announced by the state and the Centre is also being attributed to the Congress-NCP feud. "It’s an open secret that almost all district co-operative banks are controlled by the NCP. The very purpose of criticising the interest waiver was to expose the NCP and, in particular, Mr Pawar, who is believed to have prevailed upon the Centre to announce an interest waiver," said a state Congress functionary.
A Congress delegation led by Ms Rau that called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Mumbai last week had listed out a number of issues in which questions could be raised over the NCP’s role. For example, state satraps of the Congress told the prime minister that Vidarbha was still being subjected to load shedding, even though the region has abundant coal reserves. The sate power ministry is held by the NCP’s Dilip Valse-Patil.
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On the other hand, the BJP is gunning for Mr Pawar on the wheat import issue. Not long back, senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde had taken on Mr Pawar on the sugar crisis in Maharashtra. Interestingly, state BJP president Nitin Gadkari had also claimed some months back that the interest waiver announced by the state for Vidarbha farmers had only helped the NCP-controlled district banks.
Sources said both the Congress and the BJP are also wary of the Shiv Sena’s growing proximity to the NCP and Mr Pawar.
"We are particularly upset with the Sena’s stand that it supports Mr Pawar as the prime ministerial candidate. We want to educate the Sena, if it still does not know, about Mr Pawar’s utterly inept performance as agriculture minister before it throws its weight behind him for the top job," said a BJP functionary.
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