Now,Baalu says govt took wrong turns

Firstly,the crisis was not handled properly and then his demands were not fully met with.

A day after NCP chief Sharad Pawar argued that the string of scandals that have hit the UPA government have weakened its authority prompting forces like the judiciary to assert themselves,the DMK the second largest constituent of the ruling coalition on Wednesday said it partially agreed with his observations and asserted that the government had not handled certain situations properly.

Talking to The Indian Express,senior DMK leader T R Baalu pointed out that the government did not properly deal with the Anna Hazare episode,the CAG report on 2G spectrum licence allocation and the continuing phenomenon of price rise. The mighty Indian government had also adopted a lukewarm approach towards the Sri Lankan Tamil issue,he said.

Participating in the Idea Exchange organised by Loksatta,the Marathi daily of The Indian Express Group,the Union Agriculture Minister had spoken about the authority of the UPA taking a hit in the wake of the 2G scandal. It seems to be like that. I cant endorse fully,but partially what he said is correct, Baalu said when asked about Pawars observations.

Asked to elaborate,he pointed out that the government did not handle certain situations properly. The Anna Hazare issue is a classic example.

Firstly,the crisis was not handled properly and then his demands were not fully met with. There should have been a proper response and we should have a strong Lokpal law, he said.

Similarly,he said the government did not confront the CAGs findings that the 2G spectrum allocation led to a loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer. DMKs A Raja had to resign as Union telecom minister in the wake of the damning CAG report. He was arrested later by the CBI and is yet to get bail.

The CAG arrived at certain conclusions and figures and talked about presumptive loss without factoring in or equating the gains and benefits that the public have enjoyed,enjoying and will enjoy, he said referring to the low pricing resulted in low tariff argument. The government should have properly confronted the CAG and its figures, he added.

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Baalu also faulted the government on the price rise front. He was critical of the frequent increase in prices of petroleum products leading to surge in inflation and hike in prices of food articles. Prices of fuels should not be allowed to rise unbridled8230;Those at the helm of affairs should have put their heads together and found some ways, he said. As far as Sri Lanka is concerned,the UPA governments approach towards the sufferings of the Tamils in that country was lukewarm. The government did not apply enough pressure on Colombo, he added.

UPA allies feel they are on sinking ship

Seizing upon Sharad Pawars talk of low credibility of the UPA-II,the BJP on Wednesday said members of the ruling coalition are feeling as if they are on a sinking ship.

Party spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy said: Earlier,it was West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,who did not accompany Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh due to differences over the sharing of Teesta river waters. He said now it was NCP chief and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar,who had appeared to be critical of the government. This is an indicator of what is forthcoming. When asked if he felt Pawar wanted to join the NDA,Rudy said,It looks like he is planning to leave the UPA.