Joshi’s removal improper, says ousted minister

NASHIK, February 5: Describing the removal of Manohar Joshi from the post of chief minister as an improper step in view of the forthcom...

NASHIK, February 5: Describing the removal of Manohar Joshi from the post of chief minister as “an improper step in view of the forthcoming polls”, recently ousted tribal development minister Arjun Tulshiram Pawar of the BJP claimed that bickering among his Cabinet colleagues was the reason for his ouster.

He said his opposition to plans to declare some more communities as tribal was also responsible for his exit. As tribal development minister, Pawar said, he had opposed the inclusion of the Halaba Kosti and Machhimar Koli communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes, as, he claimed, it would have deprived “genuine tribals” of benefits due to them.

However, he added, the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance wanted to appease the two communities in view of the coming polls. The Halaba Kosti community had a significant presence in the Thane and Konkan regions, he pointed out.

Story continues below this ad

The Sena-BJP government at one point even decided to provide members of the communities with bogus caste certificates to get around legal hurdles, he alleged.

He said his “genuine concern” for tribals often came in the way of cordial relations with his party colleagues. For example, he said, while drawing up lists of ashram schools to be set up by the government in the academic year 1999-2000, he had cleared “some genuine proposals” from Congress, CPM as well as Independent MLAs, keeping other suggestions by Sena and BJP MLAs pending. This, Pawar said, “might have annoyed” his partymen.

He also claimed that the people of his constituency, Kalwan, were being “harassed” by Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) officials, who, he alleged demanded bribes for providing new connections and uninterrupted power supply. When efforts to set things right by meeting Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde — who also holds the Energy portfolio — failed, Pawar said, he had threatened an indefinite strike beginning on January 26. Munde however refused to intervene, Pawar claimed. Finally, local MSEB officials promised to look into the matter after which plans for the stir were suspended.

The ousted minister said his demand for the creation of a new Kalwan district by bifurcating Nashik had also irked Shiv Sena leaders in Malegaon who might have complained to Sena chief Bal Thackeray.

Story continues below this ad

Pawar has represented the Kalwan constituency in the State Legislature on five occasions — thrice as a Congressman and twice as a BJP nominee. He was tribal development minister in the Vasantdada Patil Cabinet.

Now, lauding the erstwhile Congress regimes, he said he would “continue to remain with the BJP” but might change his mind “at the last minute” by deciding to either join the Congress or contesting the Assembly polls independently.