Pawar's face-off a bid to hide his incompetence: Naik

Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar's face-off with the United Progressive Alliance was a camouflaged attempt to hide his failure to deliver as the Agriculture Minister, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union minister Ram Naik said on Wednesday.

Describing Pawar as a 'shrewd politician', Naik said, "He is trying to hide his failure to deliver as the country's agriculture minister."

He was commenting on the NCP-UPA friction. Naik, addressing reporters, also criticised Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan saying his performance after he took over reins of the state had been 'unimpressive'.

"The state housing board is not functioning. Chavan is not taking notice of complaints with regard to pending housing projects. He is actually facing the ire of both the common man and the builders' lobby in the state," he said, when asked whether Chavan was being targeted by the NCP-supported builders' lobby.

Naik praised Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for taking his state on a fast development track. Asked if Modi would be projected as a future prime ministerial candidate of BJP, he said the party had not taken any official decision on the issue.