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Sharad Pawar not leaving ‘weak’ UPA

Sharad Pawar sounded like BJP leader LK Advani when he called the UPA-2 a “weak” government in an interaction with a newspaper.

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Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar sounded like BJP leader LK Advani when he called the UPA-2 a “weak” government in an interaction with a newspaper. Then he distanced himself from the food inflation crisis with a retort that it is a question for the prime minister to answer.

However, in his signature style, he told DNA there was no differences between the NCP and the Congress: “We are very much together. There is no reason for people to think anything else.”

The Congress too spoke in similar vein. “We don’t have to agree with everything our allies say. Only because there is some difference in perception on some issue does not mean the alliance is falling apart,” said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi.

However, the BJP did see a ray of hope in the criticism. “Pawar’s comments show he has acknowledged the fact that the UPA government is besieged with slew of scandals and its imaged has taken a beating. Also, Pawar has praised the good governance by our chief ministers Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar. So, can we think that the Congress-led UPA government is sinking?” said BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

But the issue goes beyond being a matter of perception. Pawar has seen the recent decisions by the judiciary and the criticism from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) as a sign of weakness on the part of UPA-II, and this is a position that is shared by many other cabinet colleagues.

Even the Congress has acknowledged that the CAG Vinod Rai’s remarks at a public lecture in Hyderabad went beyond the constitutional limits.

“If he is speaking in his personal capacity then it is a different matter, but then the constitution requires that such authorities should not comment about others,” said Singhvi.

Union ministers Salman Khurshid, Kapil Sibal also had criticised the judiciary and the CAG as well, and the perception of a weak government has been strengthened because of the weak handling of the agitations led by Anna Hazare and yoga guru Baba Ramdev.

The fact that the UPA has drawn a blank in the recent by elections has added to the overall discomfort, within the Congress as well as the allies, but no one is pressing the panic button as yet. But course corrections can be deferred only at our peril,” said a senior Congress leader.

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