Raju Korti
By the time this blog surfaces on my Facebook wall, Maharashtra's honourable Deputy Chief Minister Ajitdada Pawar -- Sharad Pawar's gift to this "progressive state" -- will have, by his own pious and sacred considerations, flushed clean his sin of rubbing salt on the bleeding farmers of the state.
At a function at Indapur near Pune, the ever so irascible Pawar had said with his characteristic brusque "Paanich naahi tar mutayche kay?" (If there is no water in the dam ... Should we urinate into it?) even as the farmers already up to their neck in debt, heard the tactless remark in utter disbelief. As it would, it pissed off a state reeling under a severe drought. Political and media pressure forced him to tender an apology which he qualified with with a statement to the effect that it was an off-the-cuff comment and the biggest mistake of his life.
From whatever little I have seen and known about the man who comes from the prosperous sugarcane belt of western Maharashtra, atonement and penance are alien to his ethos. In the "who cares" corridors of Mantralaya, Pawar has acquired quite a reputation for his boorish and rude behaviour. It pales in comparison his dismal performance as the Irrigation Minister.
Ajitdada's arrogance stems out of the complacency that most political leaders derive out of financial and muscle power. Unfortunately, as a protégé of his wily uncle, Ajitdada hasn't learnt any lessons in sensitivity that his party spokesperson Nawab Malik wants to attribute him to.
Given his penchant to rub people the wrong way and often getting away with it, it probably didn't occur to Ajitdada's unceremonious gall that this time he was carrying the burden of his full bladder a bit too far. Worse still, he unleashed it on a hapless community which is presided over by his own uncle Sharad Pawar in his capacity as the country's Agriculture Minister .
Nothing puts the fear of God in a politician more than loss of face and chair. With the precipitous dung catching up with him, Ajitdada's conscience has suddenly woken up and now he has scrambled to the memorial of Yashwantrao Chavan in Karad for what he calls a "penance". Instead of apologising to the farmers at whose miserable expense he made that mindless speech, Ajitdada has in his belated wisdom chosen to say sorry to his mentor's mentor than to resign. Having had resigned earlier and reinstated again in the wake of the Rs 27,000 crore irrigation scam, Ajitdada knows that public memory is short.
Ajitdada's apology is a sham and his so called "penance" even a bigger one though he denies it as a publicity stunt. Doting uncle Sharad Pawar has already described his remarks with a mild "inappropriate".
It is likely the din will die down in the exchanges between the Opposition and the NCP as also between the Cong-NCP, but hunger for power will allow the coalition to keep term(s). And men like Ajitdada will continue to not only survive, but also thrive through more controversies.
Watch out for the denouement in the third and last act of this high-voltage drama. Everything will be forgotten and forgiven and the nephew will be back with a clean slate.
By the time this blog surfaces on my Facebook wall, Maharashtra's honourable Deputy Chief Minister Ajitdada Pawar -- Sharad Pawar's gift to this "progressive state" -- will have, by his own pious and sacred considerations, flushed clean his sin of rubbing salt on the bleeding farmers of the state.
At a function at Indapur near Pune, the ever so irascible Pawar had said with his characteristic brusque "Paanich naahi tar mutayche kay?" (If there is no water in the dam ... Should we urinate into it?) even as the farmers already up to their neck in debt, heard the tactless remark in utter disbelief. As it would, it pissed off a state reeling under a severe drought. Political and media pressure forced him to tender an apology which he qualified with with a statement to the effect that it was an off-the-cuff comment and the biggest mistake of his life.
Ajitdada's arrogance stems out of the complacency that most political leaders derive out of financial and muscle power. Unfortunately, as a protégé of his wily uncle, Ajitdada hasn't learnt any lessons in sensitivity that his party spokesperson Nawab Malik wants to attribute him to.
Given his penchant to rub people the wrong way and often getting away with it, it probably didn't occur to Ajitdada's unceremonious gall that this time he was carrying the burden of his full bladder a bit too far. Worse still, he unleashed it on a hapless community which is presided over by his own uncle Sharad Pawar in his capacity as the country's Agriculture Minister .
Nothing puts the fear of God in a politician more than loss of face and chair. With the precipitous dung catching up with him, Ajitdada's conscience has suddenly woken up and now he has scrambled to the memorial of Yashwantrao Chavan in Karad for what he calls a "penance". Instead of apologising to the farmers at whose miserable expense he made that mindless speech, Ajitdada has in his belated wisdom chosen to say sorry to his mentor's mentor than to resign. Having had resigned earlier and reinstated again in the wake of the Rs 27,000 crore irrigation scam, Ajitdada knows that public memory is short.
Ajitdada's apology is a sham and his so called "penance" even a bigger one though he denies it as a publicity stunt. Doting uncle Sharad Pawar has already described his remarks with a mild "inappropriate".
It is likely the din will die down in the exchanges between the Opposition and the NCP as also between the Cong-NCP, but hunger for power will allow the coalition to keep term(s). And men like Ajitdada will continue to not only survive, but also thrive through more controversies.
Watch out for the denouement in the third and last act of this high-voltage drama. Everything will be forgotten and forgiven and the nephew will be back with a clean slate.
No comments:
Post a Comment