Stay away from transfers, work for people: Pawar to his ministers

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday indicated that he was serious about running the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, led by

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday indicated that he was serious about running the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, led by Uddhav Thackeray, for its full five-year term. In a meeting of all 16 NCP ministers at YB Chavan Centre, Pawar asked them to stay away from transfers of state officials, a major source of corruption in a government, and called for better coordination among the allies. He also asked home minister Anil Deshmukh to not rely blindly on the police and use his own sources in sensitive cases.

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The meeting lasted for more than three hours, during which Pawar gave the ministers lessons on running a transparent and people-oriented government, they said. The previous government led by the Congress and NCP had been mired in corruption and irregularity cases.

“Stay away from transfers. Party workers and others will come with a long list; do not get involved in this business. If someone insists, tell them that you’re following my [Sharad Pawar] orders, Pawar saheb told us,” said a senior minister.

In political circles, transfer of state officials is known as a major money-making business for some. “Use your own sources to know what exactly has happened and what needs to be done. Do not rely blindly on the police, Pawar saheb told the home minister,” said another minister.

The directives assume significance following the controversy over a case registered against Mehek Prabhu for holding a placard that read ‘Free Kashmir’, during protests against the attack at Jawaharlal Nehru University. The home minister has said they will investigate to see if her intention was anti-national. Following this incident, the NCP leadership asked Deshmukh to be more cautious while handling sensitive matters.

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said, “Pawar saheb shared his long experience of 50 years and told the ministers how to behave with officials. He directed ministers to remain present in the Mantralaya for at least three days. He asked us to ensure that the people feel that it is their government and not of a particular party.”

The NCP supremo also insisted on better coordination among the three allies, said Ajit Pawar. “While forming a committee, ministers are expected to discuss it with the chiefs of all three parties and ensure representation of all. Your functioning shouldn’t look like that you are working only for our party, he told the ministers,” the deputy chief minister said.

NCP spokesperson and minister Nawab Malik said this was not the first time that Pawar was conducting such meetings with all the ministers. “In the previous governments, Pawar saheb used to conduct meetings with the ministers regularly,” Malik said.