Posted by Ashok Chowgule (ashokvc@giasbm01.vsnl.net.in)
The Economic Times
May 21, 1999
Title: Love for one's own country a natural instinct: Pawar Author: Publication: The Economic Times Date: May 21, 1999 Virtually kicking off his election campaign, the expelled Congress leader Sharad Pawar said it was only "natural and right" to continue to have strong emotional ties with the country of one's origin, even after accepting the citizenship of another country. Mr Pawar, who addressed a full-capacity audience at the Vasant Vyakhyanmala (spring lecture series) organised by the Kesari Maratha Trust, said, "the pull of the native soil is strong and natural; it should not be the cause for controversy nor should it have been brought out into the open," in a reference to the letter the three expelled Congress MPs had addressed to the party president which was eventually leaked to the media. He cited the example of an Indian social worker in Italy, one Ms Sonali Dasgupta, who lived there for 30 years, married to an Italian and had accepted Italian citizenship but was not allowed to contest elections there. Mr Pawar said Ms Dasgupta had then approached the Indian embassy, seeking its intervention, only to be told that it was an internal matter and the Italian law . "My answer to all issues that face the country today is the need for an alert voter and society," the Maratha strongman said. In a veiled reference to Congress president Sonia Gandhi's style of functioning, Mr Pawar harked to the times of the country's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehrul who respected differences of opinion. He said the Congress ruled undisputed for the first three decades after Independence because its central leadership under Pandit Nehru understood and respected regional aspirations. The meetings of the central leadership involved all the regional satraps, with Nehru accepting opposing views and allowing them to be aired. The former state chief minister said the growth of regional parties and regionalism had occurred as the Congress was unable to fulfil the aspirations of the people. He said there was a need to take along all sections of the people, especially the newly empowered who want to be a part of the decision making mechanism. "Reservations will no longer fulfil their needs; they want a share in the power through an active role in the decision making process," he said.
|
||