Edit, Governance Now, Jan 1-16, 2011
The minister has acted far too often in the interest of hoarders and against the aam aadmi whose cause he is supposed to champion
Going by Sharad Pawar’s words and deeds in the past several years, you can be pardoned for thinking that he heads the ministry for blackmarketeers and hoarders, rather than food and agriculture that he actually does. Look at what he said last month when the onion prices jumped from Rs 20 a kg to Rs 70 a kg in the course of one week. He said: “Onion prices will remain high for two-three weeks and the situation is likely to improve only after that.” This is nothing short of an open invitation to the blackmarketeers and hoarders to keep doing what they do best for two to three weeks more. What did he base his assessment on? Expectation of fresh arrival of onions in the market from Maharashtra and Rajasthan. And how did he explain the sudden spike in price? Unseasonal rains, of course. He didn’t say a word on banning export or importing onions to improve the situation. In fact, at an inter-ministerial meeting a day later, on December 21, Pawar actually rejected the proposal to import onions. Similarly, he didn’t say a word on why he didn’t make timely arrangements to avoid this situation given the fact that the unseasonal rains hit some of the onion-producing states in the months of October and November. Surely, he and his ministerial staff had sufficient time.
But then you don’t expect Pawar to do something sensible. Every time he opens his mouth you wish he wasn’t there. There have been several instances when he acted against the interest of the aam aadmi and the farmers whose cause he claims to be championing. Remember when the sugar price skyrocketed some months ago, he was accused of stalling import of raw sugar on a plea he is using now: That farmers would benefit from the price hike. He knows, just as well as any lay man, that such price rise is a bonanza for the blackmarketeers and hoarders, not the farmers. Food inflation has remained high, mostly in double digits, for the past three years. There has been a huge outcry throughout the country which eventually led to an unprecedented boycott of the general budget by the opposition parties in parliament. Pawar remained untouched. One day the media corned him and demanded to know what he was doing to check the all-round rise in prices of food grain, pulses, oil, fruits and vegetables. He ignored the question but dropped a bombshell, saying that the milk prices would soon go up because of scarcity in north India. Right or wrong, milk prices went up immediately, adding to the woes.
In August, the Maratha strongman decided enough was enough. At a party function, he said, suo motu, “The country has been fighting inflation since 1952, and every finance minister has faced the crisis. But, for last three years, the agriculture minister is being held accountable for it.” Later, he went on to say that inflation was a “collective responsibility” of the government. He was also heard saying that the middle class and the upper middle class were in a position to “bear the price rise”.
Disgusted with his antics, Devinder Sharma, noted food and trade policy expert, wrote in his blog in March last year: “Any strong government, if it wasn’t faced with the compulsions of coalition politics, would have removed the food and agriculture minister by now. The Congress cannot wait any longer. It must get rid of Sharad Pawar, and you will see the prices coming down.”
Not that he cares. Soon after taking over as the ICC president, Pawar told reporters in New Delhi on July 5: “I met the prime minister today and have requested him to reduce my burden. In fact, I have been after the prime minister for the last six months and telling him please relieve my burden... I want more time with my party and ICC. Mujhe rahat milna chahiye (I need relief).” Yes, indeed. It is high time too. Please Mr Prime Minister, do us a favour and relieve him right away!
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