Veteran politician and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has surprised political observers with his statements on two major issues the opposition has been banking on to corner the government.
In the first instance, Pawar, 82, criticised the Congress-led opposition campaign against industrialist Guatam Adani, saying the Adani Group was being targeted. He said a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe of the group’s dealings would serve no purpose.
Pawar is the first opposition leader who has spoken in favour of Adani since the publication on January 24 of a report by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research that accused Adani Group of wrongdoing.
That statement came at a time when opposition parties were putting up a united front, demanding a joint parliamentary probe of the Adani issue and criticising Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha after he was held guilty of defamation.
In an another statement on April 10, Pawar made a statement that again seemed to be in favour of the government when he said no one’s educational degree should become a political issue.
“Should anyone’s educational degree be a political issue in the country when we are facing unemployment, law and order (issues) and inflation? Today, differences are being created among people in the name of religion and caste. Crops have been destroyed due to unseasonal rains in Maharashtra. Discussions are necessary on these issues,” he was quoted as saying by new agency ANI.
The second statement came amid attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his educational qualifications by opposition leaders.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party has launched a degree dikaho (show your degree) campaign against the Bharatiya Janata Party, demanding that all BJP politicians prove their educational qualifications so citizens can become aware of who are taking decisions for them and the country.
Most opposition parties have protested both inside and outside Parliament, demanding an investigation into the allegations of irregularities by Adani Group. The parties targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly shielding the businessman.
While opposition parties were trying to gain mileage, Pawar’s statement took them aback.
To be sure, Pawar is known to be a mercurial politician with a penchant for making unpredictable statements.
“He is always looking for options, whether they materialise or not. People who have worked with him won’t be surprised as they are aware of his actions and words,” political commentator Rasheed Kidwai said,
Kidwai recalls the Jain Hawala case, in which the names of many politicians had surfaced, including those of LK Advani, Sharad Yadav, Balram Jakhar and Madan Lal Khurana and Devi Lal.
The scandal involved payments allegedly sent by politicians (black money) through four hawala channels, namely the Jain brothers.
“Since many politicians were involved, journalists had asked the then Union Home Minister Shankarrao Chavan whether Pawar was also in the list of hawala scandal. He had replied--- don’t you know all hawala transactions are based on trust,” Kidwai added.
"With this statement, Chavan was mentioning Sharad Pawar cannot be trusted," said Kidwai.
He added that in 1999, Pawar was collecting signatures as leader of the opposition for an alternative government, supporting Sonia Gandhi.
“Two months later Pawar questioned Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin and quit the Grand Old Party and formed the Nationalist Congress Party,” said Kidwai.
He said the veteran politician may be looking for his own political space in Maharashtra, where his party is in an alliance with Congress and Shiv Sena.
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