Why Pawar Didn’t Act against Vilasrao Deshmukh...

Perhaps for the first time in last 22 years, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar revealed on Tuesday why he did not take any action against Vilasrao Deshmukh, then a minister in his cabinet, during the famous coup of January 2013. He said he did not touch Deshmukh simply because the latter did not act of his own and was guided from leaders in New Delhi.

Pawar was speaking after releasing a book comprising of reminisces and tributes on late Vilasrao Deshmukh whose first death anniversary was observed on August 14. Deshmukh was one of triumvirate other two being Sushilkumar Shinde and Ramrao Adik. While Shinde, then state Congress president, had to relinquish his job, Adik faded into oblivion in later years.

In that famous coup which lasted for about a week, Deshmukh and others had openly demanded resignation from Pawar, then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, for failing on many fronts and questioning his loyalty to the Congress party.

Pawar lashes out at Maha CM over delay in clearing files

"Rajiv Gandhi called me in New Delhi and said, 'What is going on in Maharashtra?' to which I asked back, 'You ask me this, of all?' Then he said that he had just asked the trio to shake the tree a little and not to uproot it. Then Rajiv Gandhi asked me what action I wanted to take against Deshmukh? I replied none because I thought Deshmukh did not do anything on his own but he was operated by someone else,” he said.

He also said that it was Deshmukh who came to him and submitted his resignation for crossing the limits of cabinet conventions as a minister. “But I assured him that he was not at fault and allowed him to continue as minister in which he excelled as always,” Pawar recalled.

Pawar cited Deshmukh's nack of going through the files and take quick and proper decisions. “It is a mark of good administrator that he does not require to read and go through all that is written in it. He would quickly assess the grievance of person coming to him. And today, there are people who would shake inside out at the mention of signing on the file. It is as though they develop temporary paralysis when signing on the file,” he said.

Pawar's jibe was targeted at Chavan whom he had criticized number of times for his style of functioning. He had in the past said that Chavan sits on the file and does not clear them because of which development work is hampered. In the program on Wednesday, he said, “When the rulers do not take decisions, the common man suffers. There is nothing wrong in deciding on matters which are important for the development and the state.”

While reminiscing Deshmukh's role in building cooperatives in his region, Pawar also said that he was not happy with the state of cooperatives in the state today. “They have become one-man rule and the main purpose is defeated,” he said.

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Maharashtra BJP Demands Expulsion of Home Minister R R Patil

The Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday demanded the expulsion of state’s Home Minister R. R. Patil for his failure in controlling the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. The party also expressed its support for the ordinance issued by the state government for anti-superstition law with one condition.

Devendra Phadnavis, state president of BJP, informed the media about the resolutions passed in the Executive meeting which concluded on Wednesday. Citing the incidents of murder of anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar and rape in Mumbai Nasik and Pune, he said, “The resolution asked the expulsion of Patil because he would neither move out himself or will not be removed. The transfers of police officials are pending for because NCP and Congress want their own favorable officers in plum places. The file is pending with Chief Minister for over two months. The Maharashtra has lowest rate of conviction in crimes, 9.5%, in the country. Even the naxalism is on the rise and Patil has done nothing in five years ever since he assumed the guardianship of naxal-affected Gadchiroli district.”

Pointing to an incident in the Bhandara district where three OBC girls from same family were raped and murdered six months ago, he said, “The government does not care about the poor and disadvantaged people. How would they feel the pain of these OBC family?”

Prime Minister Can't Expect Us to be His Cheerleaders

Phadnavis said that BJP had supported the anti-superstition bill back in 2005 and had warned of the legal defects in it. The government was not serious to bring it in the legislature or pass it. “We had many meetings with late Dabholkar and Shyam Manav (another activist pressing for the bill) and had asked that the article 2 in the ordinance, which stipulates action against anybody exploiting someone in the name of miracles, to be clarified. We said that if third party complaints are allowed in this article, it will lead to blackmailing. This is the only condition which we had put. Also, we want that Warkari sect should be consulted in this regard and we are even ready to do something in it.”

On the issue of funding to Madarassas in the state, as decided by the state government on Tuesday, he said, “Reducing the assistance to Hindi and Marathi schools and giving it to madarassas is wrong. I would like to ask the government whether it would ensure that no religious education is given and only modern education is given in the madarassas if they are to be given subsidy by the government.

Phadanvis also said that senior leaders Gopinath Munde and Nitin Gadkari had chalked out the strategy of focusing on booth level and had said that minimum ten workers are to be prepared at the booth level. About 84 thousand booths have been identified all over the state and they are to be targeted in view of the impending Lok Sabha elections. The meet was attended by about 666 workers of the party. Earlier in the session, Maharashtra in charge of the party Rajiv Pratap Rudy, former national president Nitin Gadkari and deputy leader of party in Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde addressed the workers.

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