Page 12 - Sharad Pawar

Amedkar's contribution not restricted to just Constitution: Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Saturday said B R Amedkar's contribution to the country is not restricted just to the Constitution but also taking crucial and futuristic decisions over water resources and power. Speaking at an event to commemorate the 100 years of his book The Problem of the Rupee: Its Origin and Its Solution', Pawar said Amedbkar deserves credit for preserving parliamentary democracy in the country. Amedbkar was a member of the Viceroy's Executive Council from 1942 to 1946, which was responsible for labour, water and power. The NCP chief said, The current generation is only aware of his contribution (as the chairman of the drafting committee) towards the Constitution. The four-time Maharashtra chief minister said Ambedkar also took crucial decisions on how to use water and build its infrastructure. He said the key decision to construct the Bhakra Nangal dam, built over the Sutlej river, and the Damodar Valley Corporation, a public sector powe

Sharad Pawar review meeting with NCP leaders continues for Day 2 in Mumbai

Meanwhile, Pawar's statement on Israel-Palestine conflict has stirred a debate between BJP and the NCP

Pawar should condemn terrorism, not think of vote-bank politics: Fadnavis

Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday targeted NCP chief Sharad Pawar, saying that he should strongly condemn terrorism and shun vote-bank politics while talking about the Israel-Palestine issue. Pawar, a former defence minister, had said earlier this week that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statements on the Hamas-Israel war seemed to convey a different position from the one articulated by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). In a post on social media platform X, Fadnavis said, My request to Sharad Pawar ji is not to think about vote-bank politics, but strongly condemn terrorism. India has never changed its position on the Israel-Palestine dispute. However, at the same time, India has been consistently against and has always strongly opposed terrorism in any form and against anyone. When the entire world has condemned the killing of innocent people in Israel and India did the same, Shri Sharad Pawar ji should also speak in the same language against ...

PM's stand on Hamas-Israel conflict seems different from MEA: Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statements on the Hamas-Israel war seemed to convey a different position from the one articulated by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). He did not believe that the Indian government had sided 100 per cent with Israel, the former defence minister told reporters. The external affairs ministry's statement has established that India has always supported the Palestine cause, and we will continue (to do so), but we are against any organisation which is involved in (terror) attacks. But the prime minister's statement is that we are totally....he gave assurance to the (Israel) prime minister that we are with them, the NCP chief said. The Israel-Palestine issue is "serious and sensitive", and views of Muslim countries like Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates and other nations cannot be ignored, he said. This is for the first time that the head of the state has taken one position and his minist

Election Commission to hear pleas by NCP factions on party name, symbol row

One faction of the NCP is led by Sharad Pawar and the other by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar

Killari quake management can help India face any natural disaster: Pawar

The administrative system to face any natural disaster in the country with confidence stemmed from the effective disaster management during the 1993 Killari earthquake in Maharashtra, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who helmed the state at that time, said. He was speaking at a gratitude ceremony organised by an organisation of the earthquake survivors in Killari village of Latur district marking the 30th anniversary of the disaster on Saturday. A temblor of 6.2-6.3 magnitude struck several villages in Latur and Osmanabad districts in the wee hours of September 30, 1993, killing approximately 10,000 people and injuring 30,000. "Currently, India can face any kind of disaster confidently as the country has an effective administrative system in place which originated from the Killari earthquake. The country learned the lesson of disaster management from this massive disaster," said Pawar. He said the UN and the World Bank had taken cognizance of this management. "We gained experience from the

Leaders from both NCP factions say there is no split or dispute in party

Senior leaders from both Sharad Pawar- and Ajit Pawar-led factions of the Nationalist Congress Party have said that there was no split in the party. The Election Commission has called the rival factions of the NCP for a personal hearing on October 6 following a petition filed by the Ajit group claiming that he has been elected as the party's national president. It is unfair on the part of the Election Commission of India to treat our case as a dispute within a political party when we have consistently maintained that there is no split, said Jayant Patil, the Maharashtra unit chief of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, on Tuesday. Sharad Pawar in his letter to the ECI stressed the fact that he never faced any opposition within the party. There is no dispute. There has been no opposition to my (Sharad Pawar's) policies from the party on any public platform, Patil told reporters. Pawar also sought time from the ECI to explain his side because there was no dispute but there has been some exchan

INDIA bloc's coordination panel to meet today at Sharad Pawar's residence

According to reports, the INDIA alliance can hold discussions on seat sharing, and a joint campaign plan is also on the table

Sharad Pawar demands raising 50% quota cap by 15-16% to help communities

NCP president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday demanded that the Centre remove the 50 per cent cap on quota and raise it by 15-16 per cent to accommodate more communities, amid the renewed focus on Maratha reservation in Maharashtra. Addressing a news conference, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has called for a meeting on Wednesday of all party heads of the INDIA alliance, an opposition bloc of 28 parties aiming to take on the BJP-led Centre in next year's general elections. The state has been witnessing protests by the Maratha community, demanding reservations in government jobs and educational institutions. Some people say that making more people (communities) beneficiaries of the OBC (other backward class) quota is injustice to the poor people of the (existing) OBC quota. This cannot be ignored. The option is to make amendments by the Centre in Parliament to the existing 50 per cent cap and add 15-16 per cent to it, Pawar said in ...

Maha CM should find a way out: Sharad Pawar on Maratha quota protests

He further said that state president Jayant Patil and MLA Rajesh Tope informed me about the incident in detail after which we decided to come here.

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Nobody permanent friend or foe in politics: Ajit Pawar at Beed rally

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Sunday said nobody is a permanent friend or foe in politics. Addressing a rally in Beed, nearly 390 km from Mumbai, Ajit Pawar said he was hopeful Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charisma will benefit Maharashtra which follows secular thoughts. Notably, Ajit Pawar's uncle and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar had addressed a rally in Beed ten days ago. "Nobody is permanent friend or foe in politics. This is politics," Ajit Pawar said as he thanked local leaders of Shiv Sena and BJP for welcoming him and other ministers of NCP. He said PM Modi's charisma is seen all over the country and hoped Maharashtra which follows secular thoughts will benefit from this charisma. It is our expectation that PM Modi's charisma would benefit Maharashtra and hence we all decided to join the (BJP-Shiv Sena) government for the benefit of the state. There is no self-interest behind our decision to join the government. Ther

Congress' Milind Deora hails 'evolving chemistry' of INDIA partners

Ahead of the crucial meeting of the INDIA bloc in Mumbai, Congress leader Milind Deora on Sunday said seat sharing for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls among alliance partners is more or less finalised in many states with only a few states requiring more time. Deora, who is closely involved in the organising of the meeting, hailed the "evolving chemistry" between Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners and said the best example of that was in Maharashtra. In an interview with PTI ahead of the INDIA bloc meeting on August 31-September 1, the Congress leader from Maharashtra also asserted that there are "no problems" within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction). His remarks come close on the heels of a "split" in the NCP with Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP MLAs joining the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state on July ...

NCP questions Smriti Irani's silence over Muzaffarnagar school incident

The Sharad Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Saturday questioned Union minister Smriti Irani's "silence" over the incident in which a teacher in Uttar Pradesh allegedly asked her students to slap a boy from a minority community. Irani heads the Women and Child Development Ministry. The party also demanded a severe punishment against the teacher to ensure that such crimes against children do not take place again. The video shows the teacher of a private school in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar asking Class 2 students to slap their classmate from a minority community. She is also heard passing objectionable remarks against the community. The incident has triggered a nationwide outrage. "Treating a child like this is a crime that must be punished severely. This act by the teacher will scar that child's life and corrupt the minds of the kids who were forced to hit," NCP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said in a statement. Calling the incident incident as .

Media misrepresented me, Ajit Pawar is not our leader: Sharad Pawar

"This is your (media's) fault. That was said by Supriya and it also appeared in newspapers. Given the kind of stand he has taken, he is not our leader," Pawar said

Hiked duty on onion exports must be lifted, says NCP chief Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has said the 40 per cent duty on onion export must be revoked, and also claimed that the Union government might impose restrictions on sugar exports too. Speaking at an event in Purandar tehsil of Pune district on Thursday, the former Union agriculture minister said it was the government's responsibility to ensure a fair price for onions. "For the last few days, farmers in the Nashik region are protesting...they are demanding fair prices for their onion produce. Onions from the country are exported, but the government has imposed a 40 per cent duty on the export. It is the responsibility of the government to give a fair price to onion growers considering the input cost and it is farmers' right to demand it, but no concrete decision has been taken," he said. The government did announce that it will procure onions at Rs 2,410 per quintal and allow export of 2 lakh tonnes, he noted, adding that in view of the input cost, the procureme

Sharad Pawar denies split, says Ajit Pawar continues to be leader of NCP

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday asserted that there was no split in the party and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar continues to be its leader. He also said that some leaders have left the NCP by taking a "different political stand", but it cannot be termed as a split. Pawar was talking to reporters at his hometown Baramati in Pune district, a day after his daughter and party's working president Supriya Sule said Ajit Pawar is a senior leader and MLA of the party. "Now, he (Ajit Pawar) has taken a stand that is against the party, and we have given a complaint to the assembly speaker and are awaiting his response," NCP's Baramati MP Sule told reporters on Thursday. When asked about Sule's statement that there is no split in NCP and Ajit Pawar was a leader of the party, Pawar senior said, "Yes, there is no question about it." "How can anybody say that there is a split in NCP? There's no question that Ajit Pawar is our party leader," he ...

80 leaders form 26 parties and 5 CMs to attend next INDIA meeting

The next INDIA alliance meet will take place in Mumbai on August 31 and September 1, Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar finalise details today

Sharad Pawar won't make 'mistake' of joining hands with BJP: Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday claimed Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar will not make the "mistake" of joining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party, like his nephew Ajit Pawar. NCP leader Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde-BJP government in Maharashtra last month as the deputy chief minister. Eight other NCP MLAs also took oath as cabinet ministers along with him. Sharad Pawar's party is a constituent of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi in the state along with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress. "Ajit Pawar can truly be a big leader if he forms his own political party and contests elections. Ajit Pawar's politics will collapse like a sand castle if he does the same with help of the BJP, like Eknath Shinde did. In politics, towers matter and not sand castles," Raut wrote in his weekly column Rokhthok in the Sena (UBT) mouthpiece 'Saamana'. Ajit Pawar grew politically because of his uncle and is now working to finish off his (uncle's) political career

BJP breaks govt in states while talking about stability: Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday accused the BJP of breaking duly elected governments in various states, even as the ruling party spoke of providing a stable government. You talk of providing a stable government but break duly elected governments in states, Pawar said, addressing a public rally in Beed town of Maharashtra. Pawar also said PM Narendra Modi is following in the footsteps of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis by including a mi punha yein' (I'll come back again) element in his Independence Day speech. Fadnavis did not return as CM, but came back at a lower position. One wonders what will he (Modi) return as, he said.