Immature Sena leaders should contest polls, face people: Pawar

In a scathing attack on the opposition parties and leaders, Union Minister of Agriculture and Civil Supplies Sharad Pawar on Saturday termed the Shiv Sena and MNS agenda as hollow and its leaders as childish.

Those who cannot maintain the unity of their own party and agenda have no business in aspiring to rule the state, he said in a direct reference to the warring cousins Uddhav and Raj. He claimed that friction between Sena and MNS could ruin and hamper the progress of the state.

When his attention was drawn to the remark of some opposition leaders ( read Uddhav) that instead of Dadaji Kondeo, there should be statues of Pawar and Kalmadi, Pawar said that both the Sena and MNS were not politically mature and he did not care for remarks of immature men.

He also advised them to do proper work among the masses and prove themselves in their constituencies instead of invoking divisive tendencies through such speeches.

Hitting back at Shiv Sena, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said its leaders should face the electorate rather than giving hollow orders. " Let them ( Thackerays) contest any elections and face the people, rather than just giving orders," he said addressing an extended working committee meeting of the party in Mumbai.

He was also scathing of the BJP, which, he said had held Parliament to ransom on the issue of pay hike for the MPs.

" There is a proper podium for everything and the Parliament should not be misused and disturbed for such narrow ends," he said. He also advised his own coalition members Home Minister R. R. Patil and Finance Minister Jayant Patil to solve the problems of the state, without trying to involve New Delhi and advised leaders of his party to solve contentious issues by themselves without in fighting.

He also asked what was behind pointing fingers at the civil supplies minister for the precarious financial situation in the country. Why aren't questions being put to the finance minister, he quizzed.

On the proposed airport issue, he said that Mumbai was once the aviation capital of India - a position now claimed by New Delhi. He said the civil aviation authorities should coordinate with the environment ministry on the issue. He said there should be no loss resulting to Maharashtra adding that Mumbai definitely needed a second airport. He also supported the coming up of the lake city at Lavasa, saying he had formed a committee in this regard when he was chief minister and it had visited a lake city project in UK to study its feasibility. He said, not a single hill station had come up in the state after the British left India. He said the lake city could be a big boost to the tourism industry.