NCP chief Sharad Pawar has warned leaders from both the Congress and the NCP to be cautious and not overstep their boundaries while making a public statement. This caveat is in the backdrop of the bickering between the two parties over the communal riots in Miraj and Sangli last year.
Speaking at the function in Pune on Saturday, Mr Pawar said that both the parties are partners in the government in the state as well as the Centre. He advised leaders from both parties to conduct themselves with restraint.
The NCP leader also denied that his party ever instigated communal riots as accused by the Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Hussain Dalwai. After the arrest of NCP’s former Sangli-Miraj mayor Moiuddin Bagwan in the communal riots case last month, Mr Dalwai had said that the NCP resorted to instigating communal riots in order to win elections.
Mr Dalwai’s comments have caused lot of problems between the partners in the Maharashtra government. The NCP ministers had cornered chief minister Ashok Chavan on the issue in the last week’s Cabinet meeting, after which the Congress had reprimanded Mr Dalwai.
Apart from Mr Dalwai’s statement, the NCP last week faced another major embarrassment because of letter written by party leader Ratnakar Mahajan to Mr Pawar. Mr Mahajan has suggested that the NCP should merge into Congress as there is no reason left for it to continue being a separate entity.
“I am surprised by Mr Mahajan’s letter. It is true that everybody has a right to express his opinion in a democracy, but Mr Mahajan should have let me know his opinions earlier,” Mr Pawar said.
Talking about the inflation, the NCP chief, who is also the Union food and agriculture minister, said that the Central government is taking steps to ensure that farmers get an appropriate price for their product and the poor get food at an affordable price. He said, “As a food and agriculture minister, I have to deal with both the sides. Farmers demand better prices for their products, while people complain that they do not get food at reasonable rates because of middlemen. 63 per cent of the population of our country considers agriculture their main occupation. We cannot make progress unless farmer community becomes able to feed their entire family.”
Mr Pawar further added, “The Central government is taking steps to provide relief to poor people from inflation. The Proposed Food Security Act includes a provision to supply 25 to 35 kilograms of wheat and rice at Rs 3 per kilogram. We are going to rectify faulty lists of below poverty line people so that people who are really poor get the benefits.”