Pawar questions PM Modi’s timing of austerity appeal

Pune: NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday questioned the timing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s austerity appeal to people and said he made the statement only after the recently concluded assembly polls’ results.

Pawar urged the central govt to show seriousness on all the platforms in handling the economic situation in the country. “The value of rupee is going down and it is important to find out why it is happening. The war in West Asia is one of the reasons, but I feel that is not the only reason,” Pawar told reporters in Pune.

The NCP (SP) chief clarified that he would not blame the central govt for the current fuel shortage because of the ongoing war.

Referring to Modi’s austerity appeal earlier this week, Pawar said, “It is not that the country has not faced a challenging economic situation before, but why did it take so long for the Prime Minister to make a statement on the issue. The statement came only after the elections’ results were announced. The same seriousness was not shown when the elections were going on.”

Pawar iterated his demand for an all-party meeting to discuss the economic situation in the country. He also urged Modi to chair the meeting.

“When all-party meetings were called to discuss issues pertaining to the national interest in the past, the Prime Minister did not attend any of those. At least now, after making the statement on the economic situation, he should chair an all-party meeting and send a message that he is taking the issue seriously,” the veteran politician said.

Following Modi’s appeal, several ministers reduced the number of vehicles in their convoys. The chief minister of Maharashtra travelled on a two-wheeler for a state cabinet meeting on Thursday.

Reacting to these measures, Pawar said, “There has to be a consistency in following these practices. If politicians follow these only for two-three days, there will not be any positive impact.”

‘Unhappiness among some INDIA bloc partners’

NCP (SP) chief and key member of INDIA bloc Sharad Pawar on Thursday said some partners in INDIA bloc were unhappy following Congress’ decision to support TVK after the election results. He said, “The poll results in Kerala were as per our expectations but we were shocked with Tamil Nadu’s results. Some members, like Stalin’s DMK, did not like the Congress decision to support a new party there. Some alliance partners had telephonic conversations, while some feel that all members should meet. We will speak with each member and resolve the issues.”

‘Know capabilities of Patel & Tatkare'

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday said he knew the capabilities of NCP working president Praful Patel and the party’s state chief, Sunil Tatkare, but ultimately it was the call of their leadership on whom to give preference. He made the statement after names of Patel and Tatkare were found missing in a letter of NCP to the Election Commission of India.

Speaking about working with Patel and Tatkare in undivided NCP, Pawar said, “I know them for 25 to 30 years, though they are not in our party now. Patel was with me in Parliament since 2003. Tatkare has also handled various portfolios for the party. Therefore, I am well aware of their capabilities as politicians. They are now in a different party and their leadership has the right to decide as to how and where their capabilities should be used.”