Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s comments on the drought and power shortages go far beyond adding just another offence in an expanding catalogue of coarse language by India’s politicians in public discourse.
With his earlier involvement with irrigation, his exit from the Cabinet and subsequent re-entry on the strength of a questionable white paper, only the minister’s cavalier attitude could have impelled him to even speak on this subject in such a shameful manner. Maharashtra’s proneness to drought and cash-cropping patterns of agriculture as the nation’s biggest sugar producer are symptomatic of a larger malaise that few have done anything about, least of all Mr Pawar. Given that over 70 per cent of our population depends on farming, it is truly shocking that 60 per cent of farms lack irrigation.
Instead of tackling such grave issues, politicians have only tried to enrich themselves at the cost of development. This is evident from startling official statistics showing `70,000 crore being spent on adding just one per cent irrigation cover. Mr Pawar, who is in charge of key portfolios like power and finance, has only sullied the image of his Nationalist Congress Party, a key ally of the Congress in a frontline state.
In spite of an apology tendered in the Assembly for what he termed the “mistake of a lifetime”, the NCP hothead may be paying a heavy price for showing insensitivity to the poor of rural India. It would be good for Indian politics if Mr Pawar is seen as a warning.