Sharad Pawar slams RR Patil for Pune blasts, praises Narendra Modi

MUMBAI: Union agriculture minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday blasted state home minister R R Patil for his "inept handling of the law and order situation, particularly the serial blasts in Pune".

Pointing out that Pune and certain cities in the state were on the terrorists' hitlist, Pawar said, "It appears our intelligence gathering network is poor. This situation is unacceptable. There appears to be negligence at certain levels. If the officers are not performing, the state must take stringent action."

Pawar, who was in Mumbai for a high-level meeting of NCP cabinet members, gave a clean chit to NCP cabinet members, irrigation minister Sunil Tatkare and public works minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who have been accused by the BJP of "misusing their official position for personal gains". "I have seen all relevant files. I don't find any substance in the allegations made against Tatkare and Bhujbal. There is no substance in the charge that the two cabinet ministers misused their official position for personal gains," Pawar said.In his hour long inter action with NCP cabinet members, besides granting a clean chit to Tatkare and Bhujbal, Pawar lauded Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to effectively tackling drought and conservation of rain water and obliquely criticised home minister R R Patil for inept handling of the law and order situation, particularly the serial blasts in Pune.

Pawar's clean chit to the two ministers came as a surprise to senior NCP cabinent members, especially at a time when the anti-corruption bureau and the economic offences wing are looking into the allegations against a section of controversial ministers.

The main charge against Tatkare is that he was involved in rampant corruption in major irrigation projects in the state and his family members amassed wealth through illegal means. It is alleged that Tatkare and his family members have major states in several companies.

Bhujbal has been accused of awarding the contract for the construction of Andheri RTO building, Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi and the state guesthouse on Malabar Hill to a private developer. It is alleged that though the cost all the three constructions is less than Rs 150 crore, the developer will get additional FSI of Rs 5,000 crore.

Both Tatkare and Bhujbal have denied the charges, saying they are prepared for a probe by any agency.

During his hour-long interaction with NCP cabinet members, Pawar lauded Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for his effective tackling of drought and conservation of rain water.