Power in the hands of cynical politicians like Sharad Pawar is a recipe for corruption and political opportunism. Ever since Uddhav Thackeray led Shiv Sena (SS) ditched its longtime ally Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and allied with Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Sonia Gandhi’s Indian National Congress (INC), it became clear that the reins of the Maharashtra government would be in the hands of the NCP supremo Sharad Pawar.
Needless to say that NCP prevailed upon Sena and extracted important ministries including Home and others, which Pawar is now using for personal benefits. Pawar know that sugar co-operatives are key to controlling power in Maharashtra, and he hasn’t wasted a minute in abusing state power to benefit his fiefdom.
Sharad Pawar led Vasantdada Sugar Institute (VSI) was successful in obtaining a 51 hectare land, worth Rs 10 crores at ‘nominal rates’ as a special case. Uddhav Thackeray cabinet overruled objections raised by state Revenue and Finance departments and allotted the said land located at Patharwala village in Jalna to Pawar’s trust. The land was allotted much below the market price (though actual amount is unknown) despite the state finance department clearly pointing out that as per rules government lands (this land was originally obtained by state agriculture department) must be disposed off at market value after inviting bids.
Besides overruling his own state departments, Uddhav government ignored the advice of state Advocate General as well while making this allotment. Sharad Pawar sure knows how to have his way and Uddhav is nothing but a puppet (much like Manmohan was remote controlled by Sonia) in Pawar’s hands.
Next, NCP leaders filed a complaint against a journalist over a random comment on the journalist’s YouTube channel by an unknown individual. As per Lokmat News, NCP worker Laxmikant Khabiya has filed a complaint against journalist Bhau Toraskar and a portal named ‘Postman’ alleging that Toraskar along with Ghanshyam Patil and others is trying to incite the youth against Sharad Pawar.
His complaint to the Shivaji Nagar Police Station states that speeches of the above mentioned journalist incite youth and society at large to take up arms against Sharad Pawar and ‘finish’ (kill) him! And how did Laxmikant come to this conclusion? Well, based on a random comment made in one of the YouTube videos of the portal where an anonymous individual says ‘it is time to place a sutli bomb (firecracker) in Sharad Pawars’s underwear’. Political workers like Laxmikant would do well to know that going after a journalist who doesn’t agree with your views based on comments by unknown persons is known as ‘witch-hunting’. And where are the freedom-of-speech guarding liberals in all this? Why aren’t they beseeching their Godmother Sonia to prevail upon her staunch ally to back off?
But Laxmikant isn’t solely at fault here because ‘yatha raja tatha praja’ (as the king, so are his subjects). Witch-hunting is an art that Pawar has mastered. The first glimpse of it came when celebrated lawyer Ujjwal Nikam’s security was downgraded. Nikam, who was the public prosecutor in high profile cases including the 1993 Bombay serial bomb blasts and terrorist Ajmal Kasab’s case, earlier enjoyed Z+ security but has now been placed in Y category where he would be getting a single escort.
It is important to mention here that Nikam is high on the ‘hit list’ of jihadis because he has single handedly brought many jihadis to justice and sent terrorists like Kasab to the gallows. Unlike the threat to Pawar, the threat to Nikam’s life is very much real and by downgrading his security, Maharashtra government and Maharashtra Home Ministry (under NCP and by extension Pawar) has left him vulnerable to jihadi attacks. Does it have something to do with Pawar’s closeness to 1993 blast accused Dawood Ibrahim? Or is it a signal to appease his Muslim votebank which Pawar recently praised for blindly voting for anyone who could defeat BJP?
While speaking of Sharad Pawar we would like to inform you that the National Warkari Parishad, the main organization of Sri Vittal bhakts (devotees), has declared the NCP supremo “anti-Hindu” and called for his boycott. The chief of the body Sri Vakte Maharaj has asked the warkari samaj not to invite Pawar to any function of the samaj.
While making this declaration Vakte Maharaj pointed out how Pawar has always been anti-Hindu, and stated that Pawar has often made negative remarks about Ramayan. He also said that Pawar supports atheists and hence remains absent from Vittal Pooja. The Warkaris are an important sect that has a wide following in Maharashtra in general and Mumbai, Pune, Marathwada and Vidharbha in particular.
Sharad Pawar is a good example of all that is wrong with Hindu polity today. Hindu society has to reject politicians like him cutting across caste & community lines if we are to prosper and live with dignity.
(Featured Image: Dainik Jagran)
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