PUNE: Expressing disappointment over politicians linking the flow of funds with votes, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday said that votes should be sought based on work and not by promising funds.Speaking to reporters at his hometown Baramati, Pawar said, “In the ongoing civic polls, I came across some campaign speeches where politicians linked fund distribution with the votes. They are seeking votes by promising funds and not on the basis of the work that they are doing or intend to do, which is unfortunate.”While the political atmosphere is heating up in the state ahead of the voting on December 2 for municipal councils and nagar panchayats, politicians, mainly from Mahayuti, are seen linking funds disbursement with the votes. At a rally in Baramati tehsil’s Malegaon Nagar Panchayat, NCP chief Ajit Pawar made a statement that if voters reject his candidates, he will also reject their funds. Cabinet minister and senior BJP member Chandrakant Patil also made a remark at a rally saying, “Though the keys of the treasury are in the hands of other people (Ajit Pawar), the chief minister is from our party who controls the funds.”Against the backdrop of these recent remarks during the poll campaign, Pawar expressed disappointment over linking funds disbursement with votes. Speaking about the hearing at the Supreme Court regarding the quota issue for the civic bodies polls, Pawar said, “It is difficult to predict the Supreme Court’s decision, but the Apex Court’s approach on the issue is looking quite strong.”Reacting to the state govt’s decision of staying farm loan recovery for one year considering the devastation caused in the state due to floods during the monsoon season, Pawar called the step a short-term measure and claimed it is not adequate to help farmers.“Considering the enormity of the devastation that floods caused in the state, the farmers should have got partial financial aid to recover and rise from the losses. The decision to stay recovery of farm loans may be useful for the short term, but farmers required long-term assistance from the govt,” the former union agriculture minister said.
