The Union government should first introduce reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Legislative Assemblies before talking about the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said here on Thursday. Holding a press conference, Pawar also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had become restless after the Opposition parties' meeting in Patna. Next meeting will take place at Bengaluru on July 13-14, he informed. On the UCC debate, he said the NCP will make its stand clear after assessing the suggestions and demands of various communities. But before that, reservation should be given to women in Assemblies and the Lok Sabha, which is a long-pending demand, the senior leader said. On Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis's claims about Pawar being privy to the BJP's plans to form government in Maharashtra along with a group of NCP MLAs led by Ajit Pawar in 2019, the senior Pawar said Fadnavis should focus on women's security in the state ..
The Nationalist Congress Party on Thursday accused Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of trying to garner publicity by "misusing" NCP president Sharad Pawar's name to outshine CM Eknath Shinde. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Fadnavis in an interview to a TV channel recently claimed Pawar agreed to form government with the BJP in 2019 and then backed off after three-four days. Reacting to the deputy CM's claim, NCP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto in a statement said, "After being subdued by Eknath Shinde in advertisements in the past few days, Devendra Fadnavis is now trying to garner publicity on his own, he is therefore misusing the name of Sharad Pawar in interviews, to gain free publicity and outshine Eknath Shinde." After the 2019 Assembly elections in Maharashtra, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (then undivided) snapped ties with long-term ally BJP over the issue of sharing the chief ministerial post. Later, Fadnavis was sworn in as the chief minister and
Days after Ajit Pawar appealed that he be assigned a role in the NCP organisation, party president Sharad Pawar on Monday said such a decision cannot be taken by one person and key party leaders will sit to take a call on it. Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who is the nephew of Sharad Pawar, recently appealed to the party leadership to relieve him of the responsibility as Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly and assign him any role in the party organisation. Notably, Sharad Pawar recently entrusted the responsibility of Maharashtra to his daughter and Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule by appointing her as a working president. Praful Patel is another working president for other states. Asked about Ajit Pawar's desire to have a position in the party organisation, the NCP chief said such decisions are not taken by any one person. "Key leaders including him (Ajit) will sit together and they will take a decision on this. Today, everyone in the party has the sentiment to work i
Over 32 leaders of opposition parties held a meeting in Patna on Friday and resolved to take on the BJP unitedly in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections
NCP president Sharad Pawar on Monday said no discussion took place on the "prime ministerial post" in the meeting of opposition parties held in Patna last week ahead of the Lok Sabha elections due next year. There were discussions on issues like inflation, unemployment and "deliberate attempts" at some places to encourage communal forces, Pawar told reporters in Baramati town here in Maharashtra. He also hit out at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party for its criticism of the opposition meeting. Why was the BJP worried about the conclave, Pawar said, claiming there was lack of "political maturity". Drawing the battle lines, over 32 leaders of more than a dozen opposition parties held a crucial meeting in Patna hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday and resolved to take on the BJP unitedly in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. At a joint press meeting, the opposition parties said they would fight the polls on a common agenda and state-wise strategy, setting aside their ...
Sharad Pawar expressed his desire to attend the meeting to discuss Manipur violence but due to some important prior commitments, he has designated other leaders to attend the meeting
Pawar, who was accompanied by her daughter Supriya Sule, further added that "they are meeting to discuss some important issues of the country and decide the future course of action
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday said various important issues plaguing the country, including the current situation in violence-hit Manipur, will be discussed in the meeting of Opposition parties in Patna. Top leaders of opposition parties will meet in the Bihar capital on Friday to chalk out a roadmap for the formation of an anti-BJP front for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The meeting is being hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (JDU) and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav (RJD). Apart from Pawar, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (TMC), Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann (AAP), Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin (DMK), Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav and Maharashtra's former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena-UBT) are scheduled to attend the first high-level opposition meeting. Talking to reporters in Pune before leaving for Patna, Pawar said, "We will be .
Meanwhile, Bihar Congress president Dr Akhilesh Prasad Singh said all opposition parties are coming together to defeat the ideology of BJP and RSS
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Sharad Pawar on Saturday announced Supriya Sule and Praful Patel working presidents of the Nationalist Congress Party. Pawar made the announcement at the 25th anniversary of the party, founded by him and P A Sangma in 1999. The announcement was made in presence of Ajit Pawar, a key player in NCP. Pawar had last month offered to resign from the presidency of the party which was followed by fervent remonstrations from the party members as well as other political leaders. An NCP panel formed to deliberate on Pawar's offer had on May 5 rejected his resignation and urged him to continue as the party president.
Angry activists of the NCP staged massive protests and a 'jail-bharo' agitation after the ruling ally BJP leader called senior leader Sharad Pawar as a reincarnation of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said his government has taken serious note of the death threat to NCP chief Sharad Pawar and that he has given instructions for a probe. Calling Pawar a senior respected leader, Shinde said in a statement that all necessary precautions will be taken for his security. Police authorities have been asked to beef up Pawar's security if needed, the CM said. For the past few days, the chief minister said, deliberate attempts are being made to create tension in the state. Ever since the Supreme Court verdict (in Shiv Sena-related issues), some people are upset due to which attempts are being made to spoil the atmosphere by glorifying Aurangazeb and Tipu Sultan, said the statement. It added, These attempts will be thwarted. We will foil the conspiracy to create disturbances for selfish political interests. NCP leaders said their 82-year-old party president received a message on social media that read he will meet the same fate as (Narend
Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar has received a death threat on social media, NCP claimed on Friday. Taking cognisance of the matter, Mumbai police are in the process of registering a first information report, a senior police official said. A delegation of NCP workers led by Pawar's daughter and Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule met Mumbai police chief Vivek Phansalkar demanding action. The NCP leaders told the police that 82-year-old Pawar received a message on Facebook that read he will meet the same fate as (Narendra) Dabholkar soon. Narendra Dabholkar, who fought against superstitious beliefs, was shot dead by two bike-borne assailants during his morning walk in Pune on August 20, 2013. Sule submitted printouts of the screenshots of the death threat to the police. A senior police official told PTI that they have been informed about the threat to the NCP chief on a social media platform. We are looking into it. We have started a probe, the official said. NCP had
After alleged objectionable social media posts concerning Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan that sparked tensions in Maharashtra's Kolhapur, Sharad Pawar said that there is no need for politics
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday said the violence that took place in Kolhapur and some other places over the posters and social media posts allegedly glorifying Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan was not in line with the culture of Maharashtra. Tension gripped Kolhapur city, 285 kilometres from here, on Tuesday after some persons allegedly kept an image of 18th-century ruler Tipu Sultan and an offensive audio message as their social media status, resulting in a protest by right-wing outfits at Shivaji Chowk the next day. Police had to resort to lathicharge (baton charge) to quell the stone-pelting and violence that the protest descended into, following which 36 people were held in connection with the incidents in the western Maharashtra city. Speaking to reporters in Baramati, Pawar said, "People of the state and these places where such incidents took place must maintain violence. Whatever happened at two to three places is not in line wi
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday claimed there is currently an "anti-BJP" wave and people of the country want a change considering results of the recent Assembly polls in Karnataka. If this mindset of people continues, the country will witness a change in the forthcoming elections, Pawar said at a press meet here. He also claimed that small incidents in Maharashtra were being given a "religious colour", which was not a good sign. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faced defeat in the recently held Assembly elections in Karnataka, where the Congress came back to power after a gap of five years. The Lok Sabha elections are due in 2024, and the Maharashtra Assembly polls are also due in the later part of next year. Pawar said, "Looking at the scenario, I think there is an anti-BJP wave going on. Considering the Karnataka election results, people are in the mood for a change. If this mentality of people continues, there will a change in the country in th
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said it is a matter of satisfaction that an inquiry has begun against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the Wrestling Federation of India chief who is facing sexual harassment allegations from some women wrestlers. Talking to reporters here, Pawar said the protesting wrestlers want Singh's arrest, while the government says it will conduct a probe first and then take a decision. "It is a matter of satisfaction that the probe has begun," he added. The wrestlers have been agitating against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, and demanded his arrest. Some women wrestlers have accused Singh of sexually harassing them. The BJP leader has denied the charges. The government has invited wrestlers protesting against Singh for talks on their issues, days after they met Home Minister Amit Shah. In a tweet post-midnight Tuesday, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said the government was "willing to have a discussion wi
If the Opposition comes up with a credible alternative ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, people may consider it, said NCP president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday, stressing that the decision on the new Parliament building could have been taken through dialogue with political parties. The senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader was speaking in a Sauhard Baithak' (meeting to foster amity) at Mahatma Gandhi Mission University in Maharashtra's Aurangabad. Speaking about next year's general elections, he said, My concern is if people will have the same approach for the (2024) Lok Sabha elections as they have for states (assembly polls). If the Opposition unites and offers a credible alternative, people may consider it. If the Opposition doesn't move wisely, it can't expect people to think of a different choice on their own, he said. Many opposition parties, including the Congress and JD(U), are trying to forge unity ahead of next year's Lok Sabha polls. If rulers accept the polic