After Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it was Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s turn on Saturday to heap praise on NCP Chief Sharad Pawar on his home turf of Baramati in Western Maharashtra, where Modi had in the run-up to the 2014 Assembly polls ironically described Pawar’s party as “Nationalist Corrupt Party” and exhorted the voters to “free” themselves from the slavery of “Chacha-Bhatija” (Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar).
As Pawar played a perfect host to the Finance Minister, Jaitely was effusive in praise of the NCP Chief for the good work done in Baramati, which he termed as one of the developed regions in the country.
Speaking at a function after inaugurating the new building of the College of Agriculture and Allied Science at Baramati, Jaitley said: “Here is a rural district (Pune in which Baramati is a tehsil) which suffers lack of water. In order to transform itself into one of the most progressive districts in the country is no mean achievement. Obviously Pawar saheb has literally for the last 40 to 50 years, developed the area. The economy (of this area) has transformed”.
Jaitley, who also presided over a function organised to rename the Vidya Pratishthan College of Engineering as Kamalnayan Bajaj Institute of Engineering and Technology at Baramati, said: “There should be 100 more (regions like) Baramatis” in the country to ensure development”.
Jaitley, whom Pawar hosted a dinner at his “Govindbaug” after he arrived in Baramati on Friday evening, said: “I have been blessed
with a visit to Baramati... My visit to Baramati here has been a great learning experience for me”.
“The Krishi Vigyan Kendra that I visited is as progressive as any in the world,,, The milk products that are being produced (in Baramati) are of global quality...The best of agriculture techniques have to be deployed so that productivity in agriculture goes up. For this, we need institutions like Krishi Vigyan Kendra,” the Union Finance Minister said, referring to the challenges faced by farmers.
Industrialist Rahul Bajaj was also all praise for Pawar. “He has been my close friend for very many years. We all know that he has grass-root contacts, that he is pro-farmers and workers, that he is favour of growth of industries and that he has global mindset.”