Allies of UPA govt unanimous on food bill: Tewari

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari on Friday said all UPA allies have extended support to the Food Security Bill, “irrespective of news items depicting lack of unanimity on the issue.”

Talking to the media here after conferring the Dadasaheb Phalke Award on veteran actor Pran, the Congress leader, responding to a query on Union Minister of Agriculture Sharad Pawar expressing displeasure over the bill, said: “I have a lot of respect for Pawarsaheb and he is an astute politician. But whatever is being attributed to him is contrary to the stand our allies have taken inside the Cabinet.”

Tewari also rejected Pawar’s assessment of the Karnataka Assembly election results, saying that the Congress victory was not just driven by the anti-incumbency factor. “The reality is that the people in the state have thrown out the BJP and shown faith in the Congress,” he said.

Refusing to comment on the recent scandals involving Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and Railway Minister P K Bansal, Tewari said: “I cannot comment on the issue. While the railway minister has expressed a desire for an impartial probe, the law minister issue is sub-judice.”

On the issue of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi being applauded by corporate leaders, Tewari remarked: “One should take a note of caution from history. Around 1930, corporate leaders in Germany backed a leader who went on to become the world’s greatest dictator and took the world to the brink of a disaster. I think that sums up my assessment.”