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New Delhi:
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, quite unperturbed about
spiralling prices and farmers' suicides, is busy building bridges
with Congress detractors. Fishing in troubled UPA waters, Pawar is
currently stoking disgruntled allies to form a pressure group
within the government with a view to garnering support as an
interim Prime Minister if Dr Manmohan Singh is compelled to resign
in the New Year.
Pawar, who was on a shaky wicket when UPA 2 came to power as he
did not get the expected number of MPs from Maharashtra, has
survived the IPL controversy to emerge as a contender for the top
post. Buoyed by a troubled Parliament and a stronger Opposition,
the Agriculture Minister has doubled efforts to bring the UPA
allies and other parties to his side. His meeting with rebel Jagan
Reddy in New Delhi has caused concern within Congress circles that
see it as part of the "Pawar ploy" to give support to Congress
detractors.
Sharad Pawar was close to Jagan's father, the late Chief Minister
of Andhra Pradesh, Y.S. Rajashekhar Reddy. Congress leaders have
always suspected him of supporting Jagan's rebellion, with the
recent 45-minute meeting being seen by the party as a confirmation
of this. It might be recalled that Jagan Reddy's has been
spearheading a campaign against Congress president Sonia Gandhi
and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and has emerged as a
recognizable political force in Andhra Pradesh. Congress members
point to the fact that Pawar had earlier made common cause with
party rebels like V.C. Shukla and K. Karunakaran and was "only
acting in pattern".
Pawar, who has a good rapport with Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu
Prasad Yadav and Mamata Banerjee has been strengthening lines of
communication with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, a
powerful ally in government. The two jointly addressed an
Agriculture Conference in Tamil Nadu where the DMK leader was full
of praise for Pawar and said that he had been personally invited
by the Union Agriculture Minister. Sources pointed out that both
leaders are now in "close contact".
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is unable to tame the Agriculture
Minister or make him accountable for food supplies and prices. He
has managed to evade responsibility and the Congress is not able
to confront him on these issues as Pawar's support has become
indispensable for the party to survive in Maharashtra, the only
other major state it controls now besides Andhra Pradesh. In the
latter too Pawar, sources said, is busy fomenting dissent, with
the Congress particularly perturbed as several of its legislators
are hovering around Jagan Reddy.
An emboldened Pawar has now launched a frontal attack against
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on the Lavasa Lake City project
near Pune, for proposing action against it. Defending the project
Pawar has said that the Environment Minister "should have
consulted my ministry". There has been no immediate reaction from
a stunned government. The Agriculture Minister has also come out,
once again, in strong defence of industrialist Ratan Tata
embroiled in the Niira Radia tapes controversy. He is the only
Union minister to take this position.
As a senior Congress leader who has known Sharad Pawar for a long
time said, "Pawar is able to sense trouble before it actually hits
government, and obviously he is preparing the ground for himself."
The 2G scam has weakened the Congress in Parliament, and the
Opposition insistence not to back off from its demand for a JPC
probe heralds prospects of a troubled Parliament through 2011.
(The Sunday Guardian)
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