Poor communication cost UPA, says Praful
NCP leader and former Union miniser Praful Patel on Wednesday suggested that the failure of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to be more assertive and lack of communication in the Union Cabinet and among the UPA constituents led to the worstever electoral debacle for the Congress.
“We, as allies, have a very little role and we did not have any process... When even our minor consultation process would have been useful was never adopted,” he a news channel on Wednesday.
He was replying to a specific question on whether the NCP chief and former agriculture minister Sharad Pawar ever approached Prime Minister about being more assertive as the lack of it was going to cost all of them.
“These issues cannot be discussed by us. At the end of the day, he is the nominee of the Congress party. He may be the Prime Minister of course for whole country and for us. But in a political process, I think we had very little say,” Mr Patel said.
Asked whether these things went unexpressed, he said, “... I am sure between many Congress colleagues whom I cannot name in TV they certainly express the same feeling with frustration many at times.”
He maintained that they were expressing their apprehension and frustration and they were venting it.
“But they were never saying it publicly.”
Mr Patel, however, ruled out snapping ties with Congress even as he said that several rights- based initiatives which the government adopted failed to yield the desired results.