Pawar slams Cong on political advice

Fails to attend Friday's rally in Bhubaneswar, but vows to go to Orissa and address joint rallies with BJD chief Naveen Patnaik'.

Hitting out at the Congress party for its criticism of his proposed visit to Bhubaneswar to attend a Third Front rally, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today said he does not need advice from anybody on how to conduct his political activities.

“I don’t need advice from anyone other than party colleagues on where should I go and which political rallies I should attend or not,” Pawar told reporters here at a press conference called to release the party’s manifesto for the coming general elections.

The NCP chief cancelled his visit to Bhubaneshwar as the aircraft in which he was scheduled to travel developed a technical snag.

The rally in Bhubaneswar, which launched the united victory campaign, was attended by CPI (M) secretary general Prakash Karat, CPI secretary general AB Bardhan, NCP leader DP Tripathy and BJD supremo and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, among others.

Without naming Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, Pawar said: “Some people have the habit of giving unsolicited advice as they think it will help them to hog some limelight. I have no issues with it. But such advice will not change my mind.”

Though he could not fly to Bhubaneswar, Pawar said his party would contest eight Assembly and one Lok Sabha seat in Orissa in alliance with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).

“I will go to Orissa and address joint rallies with Orissa Chief Minister and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik in the coming days,” he claimed.

Pawar clarified today’s rally in Bhubaneswar was not that of the Third Front, though was organised by the BJD and Left parties.

Replying to a question about joining the Third Front after the elections, Pawar said if the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) failed to get the magic number, “we will advise constituents of the Third Front to take support of other secular parties”.

The NCP chief also highlighted the Left’s support to the UPA government till July 2008, saying because of the Left support, the UPA government remained stable for four years and three months. He said Left Front had played a major role in various achievements of the UPA like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), Right to Information Act, among others.

Pawar also claimed that Manmohan Singh was the prime ministerial candidate of the Congress party alone, and not of the UPA. The other constituents of the UPA would meet after the elections and decide upon their prime ministerial choice, he added.

Interestingly, the NCP was the first party which almost six months back had suggested to the Congress leadership that constituents of the UPA should come together and contest the Lok Sabha elections and Manmohan Singh should be declared as their prime ministerial candidate. “However, the Congress ignored our suggestion,” Pawar said.

In its manifesto, the NCP promised reservation for the economically backward among Maratha, Muslim and other communities, forming an anti-dumping authority to protect industry and jobs, to ensure more concession in the interest rates for agricultural credit, and loan waiver for rural artisans, among others.