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Bidi baron Praful Patel joins NCP in Maharashtra

A Special Correspondent in Bombay

Praful Patel, bidi baron and Congress member of the twelfth Lok Sabha from Bhandara in Maharashtra, has quit the party to join his mentor Sharad Pawar.

Announcing this at a press conference along with Nationalist Congress Party president Pawar and general secretary Purno Sangma, Patel said, "In the last few weeks, I have seen that there is a feeling in Indians that no one of foreign origin must become prime minister of India. Therefore my conscience towards the national interest made me join the NCP. I am grateful that the leaders of the NCP have accepted me."

Coming down heavily on the Congress leadership, he said, "The Congress party talks of democracy, but the fact is that except for sycophancy there is nothing in the party. All the grassroots Congress workers in Maharashtra are shocked by the way Mr Pawar was treated by the Congress Working Committee members."

Later on, Pawar informed the reporters that the first convention of the NCP would be held on Thursday, June 10, in Bombay.

"One of the main objectives of our party will be to bring professionals, intellectuals, youth and students into our fold and give a new definition to Indian politics in the 21st century," he said. "We have found that there is a big gap between politicians and these people and we have to reduce the gap."

Asked why didn't he feel the same need when he was in the Congress, Pawar retorted, "We tried to do that in Sonia Congress, but were unable to do so."

Sangma, speaker of the eleventh Lok Sabha, said, "We are going to build a think tank in the party. There will be a healthy debate in the party before taking any important decision."

Addressing the country's problems, he said, "The nation is facing a problem from overpopulation and unemployment. We will be discussing all these things in our convention."

Both politicians refused to give credit for the Congress victory in the Goa assembly election to Sonia Gandhi.

In fact, Pawar said, many of the Congress candidates were decided by him.

Sangma said another reason for the victory was that the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party fought the election separately.

Moreover, Pawar said, electing a chief minister is different from electing a prime minister.

Asked about the NCP's possible electoral allies, Pawar said, "It cannot be said now as it is too early. But we will definitely not have any alliance with the BJP and the Sonia Congress." As for the Shiv Sena, he said nobody is taking that party seriously in the election.

Pawar denied that the NCP was being looked upon as a regional party concentrating only on Maharashtra and Meghalaya. "Lot of people are with us and are thinking of joining us," he stated, without elaborating.

Asked how different is the nationalism of the NCP as compared to that of the BJP, Pawar said, "The NCP is talking of Indian nationalism, not Hindu nationalism."

PHOTOGRAPH: JEWELLA MIRANDA

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