M aharashtra cooperation minister Babasaheb Patil from the Nationalist Congress Party bared his heart on Friday. Talking about the people’s obsession with loan waivers, he shared an apocryphal story. During an election, a leader visited a village, and the residents told him that they would vote for whoever brought a river to their village.

“Alright, we will give you a river, too,” the leader said. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) minister then explained the moral of the story: “That’s why I say people should decide wisely what they demand…. We (politicians) make promises because we want to win elections, but all these things need serious thought.”

How candid! Somebody needed to say this. Patil might have learnt this art of plainspeak from his party chief, Ajit Pawar. On a

See Full Page