NCP goes into ‘snooze’ mode after charter for Dalits

NCP state president Madhukar Pichad said it was for the government to implement it after his party had declared the charter. However,when asked whether the party would formally meet Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan,on the issue of implementing the charter of demands,Pichad replied in the negative. “We are part of the government… our Ajit Pawar is the Deputy Chief Minister; there is no need,” he said,hinting that things should happen automatically.

Sources said the rally in which Pawar was dressed up like Mahatma Phule — wearing a large turban and a ‘ghongdi’ (a rustic coarse blanket) on his shoulder — was meant to woo Dalits and castigate Ramdas Athawale (Pawar’s ally for the past two decades) for joining hands with the Shiv Sena-BJP.

The NCP leaders had initially said that the party would scrap some existing welfare schemes meant for Dalits and suggest some new ones after reviewing the ongoing schemes. However,the charter did not come up with any significant new scheme,nor did it seek to scrap any ongoing scheme. It was expected that Ajit Pawar would meet Chavan to speak on the charter or raise the issue in the weekly state cabinet meeting held on Wednesday,but he did not do any of these.

Sources said the NCP and Congress were vying with each other to woo Dalits (by raising issues like renaming Dadar station as Chaityabhoomi) in the runup to the civic elections,in which both the parties are preparing to go solo without a pre-poll alliance. Hence,the charter was not a joint declaration or the official policy of the Chavan government,they said,adding that it was absurd that a party in power had to go public with a charter of demands.