Sharad Pawar cautions Cong, says Kejriwal's campaign was based on hollow promises
New Delhi: Did too many advisers spoil the Congress broth? At least that's what Agriculture Minister and NCP leader Sharad Pawar seems to think.
A day after the Congress was routed in assembly polls in four states, Pawar in his blog has written that people are looking for strong and decisive and result oriented leaders. "They do not want weak rulers, but they want those who will formulate policies and programmes for the poor and implement them with firmness," he said.
Stating how the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was strong and decisive, Pawar, who was once with the Congress, said she took bold decisions such as nationalisation of banks or ending Privy purses, which she implemented with conviction and firmness.
Comparing those times of the Congress rule with today's situation, he said back then leaders were fully aware of the ground reality. Of late weak leadership at various level has given a rise to bunch of pseudo 'activists' who have no connect with ground realities, he wrote.
In his words: "Unlike today, that whole class of people, who are always willing to give their free advice on every matter, was absent then. Such is the clout of these free advisors, that people from the media as well as the government fall prey to them and start believing that the opinions of these advisors is that of the people. We need to think about this too."
On youth using the ballot to vent out their anger and the lessons learnt: "When such confidence is lacking in the rulers, other power centers are likely to spring. This was the big lesson to be learnt from the Assembly election results."
Though in a subtle way, Pawar termed AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal's poll promises as hollow. Kejriwal's promise of bringing down prices of onions and power rates if voted power is easier said than done, felt Pawar because states cannot control these prices as they depend on demand and supply which largely depends on situations such as drought, availability of water etc.
Being practical on the issue, he wrote, ""Is the farmer growing onions and vegetables facing a drought, does he have water? In such conditions, when the produce is lower, there is bound to be an impact on the rates too. But, this fact is being ignored on purpose."
He ends his blog on a note that is a mixture of positivity and sarcasm. He wished AAP had got few more seats in Delhi to form government. "They probably will, when elections are held again after 4-5 months. Once in power, I would like to see them bringing down prices of onions, vegetables and electricity. Only then will the public know the truth about their campaign."
