New Delhi: Senior Janata Dal (United) leader Shivanand Tiwari on Thursday charged Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar with representing interests of cricket, sugarcane growers and wineries of Maharashtra. "I do not trust his (Pawar`s) ability. He is not the Agriculture Minister of the country but is minister for wine and sugarcane growers of Maharashtra. He is Minister for cricket," Tiwari said in the Rajya Sabha during a debate on agriculture crisis and farmers` suicides.
Tiwari said Pawar is not able to handle the worsening agriculture situation. "He comes and presents to Parliament the same situation. He should quit with dignity, if he does not have abilities," the JD(U) member said.
He said agriculture policies are dictated by multi-lateral bodies like IMF, the World Bank and multi-national companies like Monsanto. Tiwari said the government kept talking about building back-end infrastructure through foreign direct investment. "Walmart is already present in the country for the last six years. Has the company set up any cold storage?" he asked. Earlier, senior BJP leader M Venkiah Naidu said Pawar was "helpless" and he had "limitations".
PTI