Is there lot to it than what meets the eye?
Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar is known to be the most unpredictable politician of the country. No one can gauge his moves on any issue. His actions and reactions to different political and social events have always been out of the box and anyone who claimed predict them, have found himself in awkward position later.
But his response to the decision of central government handover the Elgar Parishad investigations to National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been something completely unlike Sharad Pawar. Known for his balanced and composed response to however serious incident, he has been not living up to the reputation ever since the central government brought NIA into the investigations.
His unnatural anxiety over the decision of central government is hinting at perhaps something more sinister than everyone is thinking. Pawar’s response in the entire issue has prompted people to think that Pawar and his party may be staring at a disaster. Who is he trying to protect, himself or his party? All of a sudden he took up the matter and started sympathising with the accused that are currently behind the bars.
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Pawar first raised doubts over the entire investigation and demanded re-investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT). He also cast aspersions over the conduct of police officials involved in the investigations, demanding formation of SIT. All this after the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) came to power, knowing that, now he can bend the machinery at will. Interestingly, nephew Ajit Pawar promptly gave clean chit to Pune police and praised it for commendable investigations.
But the central government took swift actions and transferred the investigations to NIA. It was then, Pawar lost cool and went on allegations spree. He is obstinately trying to pressurise the administration and also central government. He has gone back to allegations of instigating the violence against Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote.
He is using every possible forum to reignite the matter against Bhide and Ekbote. But conveniently conceals the fact that, in the affidavit submitted before the Justice JN Patel commission, Pawar has claimed that he did not possess any evidence to name both Ekbote and Bhide. He claims to be fighting for justice to ‘illegally’ jailed intellectuals and human right activists without any evidence. He however, forgets that every court has thrown out the bail applications of the jailed accused. Had there been any doubt, the accused would have got bail in no time.
It has been Pawar’s style to create ambiguity over sensitive issues and walk away when enough damage is made. The Malegaon blast case, for instance. Pawar expressed concerns over ‘selective’ targets and the entire line of investigations took a dramatic turn. And Pawar never uttered a word about the case, after that. He cleverly fed the media about 12th bomb blast near Masjid Bunder, in Mumbai in 1993. Later he himself admitted to have spread false information about that blast. Pawar appears to have resorted to his old tricks of divisive politics. This time, it is in the name of Dalits. There is lot of scope to doubt his intentions even now.
During the campaign to the Assembly elections and till the MVA government was formed, Pawar was on ‘agri tourism’ visiting farmers assuring them compensation for their losses. He had portrayed picture that once his party comes to power, farmers will be the happiest lot in the state. Bhima Koregaon or Elgar Parishad was nowhere among the campaign issues back then. And the day MVA government took oath, he made much expected summer sault. Given the reaction of Sharad Pawar and his party, it appears that NIA has lot of questions for him!
