Nationalist Congress Party supremo and Union Minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday took a dig at Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, saying his act of having lunch with farmers under a tree will not help solve drought-related problems.
“The problems (like drought) won’t be resolved by sitting under a tree and eating `thecha’,” Mr Pawar, who is on a tour of Satara district, quipped. Thecha is a type of green chilli-garlic chutney.
“We should ensure how to speed up works in the drought-affected areas,” the Union agriculture minister added.
Mr Chavan had lunched with labourers engaged in tasks like digging wells during his visit to his home district of Satara on Sunday to review drought relief works.
Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana called the Congress leader’s act a farce and a poor imitation of Mr Rahul Gandhi’s famous meals with the poor.
Mr Pawar said he had requested state governor K. Sankaranarayanan to visit the drought-affected areas of the state.
The NCP, a part of the Congress-led ruling coalition in the state, is miffed with Mr Chavan since July last year, when he said giving the key home portfolio to the NCP was a mistake.
“I think it was a mistake. We should have re-looked at it. I don’t know of any other coalition government where the portfolios of home, finance and planning are not with the chief minister,” Mr Chavan had said.