Shekhar Gupta entertains us with an interview with India’s alleged Agriculture and Food minister, Sharad Pawar. The interview is amusing: not even once does Mr. Gupta quiz Mr. Pawar on agricultural issues or our food security, let alone farmer suicides or the soaring inflation. All Mr. Gupta is concerned about how the business environment in our country, and protecting the fair name of Ratan Tata and Praful Patel, India’s aviation minister. Mr. Pawar obliges Mr. Gupta all the way, at one instance saying:
“Basically as a person who was a chief minister of a state like Maharashtra and who comes from Mumbai, my major concern is the investment climate.”
Mr. Pawar could have easily said:
“Basicaly as a person who was a chief minister of a state like Maharashtra, which has seen the largest amount of farmer suicides, and which has a very large number of poor people who are affected by the soaring prices, my major concern is agriculture and food. Oh, I forgot to add, I am also supposed to India’s agriculture and food minster, so I must be interested. Very interested.”
Of course he says nothing like that.
The only time Mr. Gupta diverts from the line is when he discusses Mr. Pawar’s myriad business interests. Mr. Pawar, as one would expect, dismisses all his connections, at one point even lamenting/claiming that ‘But I didn’t get even a single share’ in Dynamix, a dairy and food processing major in his constituency.
Read the entire interview: it shows how a mediocre politician can become a successful business tycoon and escape any media criticism for his disastrous failures.
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