Sharad Pawar Once Again Trips MVA, Now Over Waqf Bill

The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi is facing a humiliation, this time over the Waqf Amendment Act as Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray has refused to move the Supreme Court over the matter. MVA was already facing tensions since veteran leader Sharad Pawar had stayed over in Mumbai when the Rajya Sabha was voting on the Bill to amend the Waqf Act. When quizzed about his absence at such a crucial juncture, his followers had merely said that his appointments in Mumbai had been decided much earlier. Although both the Sena (UBT) and Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party had opposed the Bill in the Lok Sabha, their sudden change of heart when voting started in the RS had sent out confusing signals. For a long time, no single party or leader can say with certainty what policy Pawar will adopt for a particular matter. Pawar goes ahead with what he feels needs to be done. For instance, his cosy relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi has remained a matter of political intrigue. Similarly, his free access to industrialist Gautam Adani has rubbed the Congress party the wrong way since its leader Rahul Gandhi does not spare a single opportunity to abuse Adani and Ambani groups. Despite this, Pawar is unfazed. It was owing to his unambiguous stand that no Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) could be set up when there was a furore against Adani over the Hindenburg disclosures. Pawar’s stance about the Waqf Act is just one more example and MVA will have to gulp it without complaining.