Will thrash him if he doesn't perform: Minister's 91-year old mom

Mumbai: "Mamma" will keep a close watch over her son and Rashtriya Samaj Paksh (RSP) President Mahadeo Jankar, who was sworn-in as a cabinet minister in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' ministry here on Friday. Shortly after the oath-taking, when media-persons approached her for reactions, 91-year-old Gunabai Jankar warmly blessed the 49-year old Jankar and lauded him for his achievement. And then without warning, she shot back: "But, if he doesn't perform well, then I shall thrash him...!" The nonagenarian's unexpected "tweak in the ear" remark took the media and the august gathering by surprise and they guffawed and nodded in approval as an embarrassed Jankar looked down. Later, he assured that he would work sincerely towards the uplift of the poor, downtrodden and marginalised sections of society, from which he hails. Jankar has come a long way since he was born in a scorching field in Wadhe village in Satara district, where his father was tending sheep when his young wife Gunabai suddenly went into labour on April 19, 1968, at the height of summer. Jankar qualified as an engineer and at the age of 22 took a vow: "I will remain unmarried and will not make money or wealth for myself during my lifetime and shall strive for bringing political awareness and power to shepherds and equivalent deprived communities of India." Till date, he has stuck to his vow and remains unmarried, a man of simple means, residing in a ramshackle single-room tenement in south Mumbai.