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Tag: NCP
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Petrol at Rs 100: Thane NCP puts up ‘celebratory’ hoardings
By PTI
THANE: The Thane unit of the NCP on Friday put up billboards across the city “celebrating” the cost of petrol hitting the century mark, and took a swipe at the Narendra Modi government by telling people such price rise was the Centre’s idea of “achche din”.Thane NCP president Anand Paranjpe said fuel prices were rising over the past fortnight and petrol was retailing at Rs 100 in the city.
Petrol price had, on Thursday, crossed the Rs 100-a- litre mark here after the price of petrol was increased by 24 paise per litre and diesel by 29 paise a litre.
The increase – 14th this month – took petrol and diesel prices to an all-time high across the country.
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‘No instability in Uddhav government’: Jayant Patil downplays ‘tensions’ within MVA
By PTI
MUMBAI: Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil on Thursday said there was no “instability” in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government in the state.NCP president Sharad Pawar met Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday evening, giving rise to speculation about tensions within the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance.
“I don’t know what transpired in the meeting. But there is no question of instability in the government. New issues do crop up. what is the connection between them and the government’s stability,” Patil said, speaking to reporters.
On the Maratha quota issue, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should “take a decision in Parliament”.
“State BJP leaders must pursue the matter with their central leadership,” he said when asked about the future of the quota which has been struck down by the Supreme Court.
On lifting the current lockdown-like restrictions in the state on account of coronavirus pandemic, Patil said the issue of restrictions and COVID-19 numbers is discussed in the cabinet meeting every week.
“Any decision will be taken only after discussions,” he said when asked if the restrictions will be eased after June 1.
Meanwhile, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik told reporters that Sharad Pawar has resumed his political activities after taking rest following a surgery.
“He met chief minister Thackeray on Wednesday. He held discussions with (BJP Rajya Sabha MP) Sambhajiraje and NCP leaders this morning,” Malik said.
Pawar has called a meeting of all NCP legislators on June 1, he said.
“He will hold a separate meeting with NCP ministers and take a review of their performance,” Malik said.
The NCP supremo had said before the West Bengal elections that opposition unity was desirable, and he will “start working in that direction against the backdrop of the Central government’s poor handling of the COVID pandemic and failure to deal with vaccine shortage,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Congress on Thursday accused the BJP of betraying the Maratha community, and claimed that the BJP-RSS connection of an organisation that opposed the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) quota has come out in the open now.
The BJP, however, said it supports the quota for the community and would continue to do so in future.
It alleged that the Congress was spreading rumours on the issue.
Addressing a press conference, state Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant claimed that the BJP-RSS connection of the office-bearers of ‘Save Merit Save Nation’ organisation, which opposed the Maratha quota in the Supreme Court, is now out in the open.
“Isn’t this betrayal of the Maratha community when the BJP helps the organisations that opposes the quota. This can’t be a mere coincidence. Did the BJP prevent the party office- bearers from being associated with this organisation? We seek a clarification from the BJP,” Sawant said.
He lashed out at the BJP on its plan to hold a protest on June 5 over the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government’s handling of the Maratha quota.
“If the COVID-19 numbers go up, superspreader BJP will be responsible for it. The MVA did not make any changes in the legal team or the draft of the act passed by the legislature during the BJP rule. How is the MVA responsible?” he asked.
Sawant accused the BJP of indulging in political opportunism.
Meanwhile, reacting to Sawant’s allegations, BJP spokesman Keshav Upadhye said the Congress was spreading rumours since it was scared of the agitation.
“In fact,some Congress and NCP leaders supported the anti-quota petitions in the court. The BJP was in support of reservation and will continue to remain so,” he said.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had struck down the Maharashtra law granting quota to Marathas in admissions and government jobs, terming it as “unconstitutional”, and held that there were no exceptional circumstances to breach the 50 per cent reservation cap set by the 1992 Mandal verdict.
The Maharashtra State Reservation (of seats for admission in educational institutions in the State and for appointments in the public services and posts under the State) for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act 2018 was enacted to grant reservation to people of the Maratha community in the state in jobs and admissions.
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BJP MP Sambhaji Chhatrapati meets Sharad Pawar over Maratha quota issue
By PTI
MUMBAI: BJP MP Sambhaji Chhatrapati on Thursday met NCP chief Sharad Pawar to discuss the Maratha reservation issue and urged him to take an initiative in the matter.The Supreme Court recently struck down the Maharashtra law granting quota to the Maratha community in admissions and government jobs, by terming it as “unconstitutional”, and held that there were no exceptional circumstances to breach the 50 per cent reservation cap set by the 1992 Mandal verdict.
Speaking to reporters outside Pawar’s residence here, the Rajya Sabha MP said, “I have informed Pawar about the unrest and pain in the Maratha community and urged him to take an initiative in the matter.”
The BJP leader said he has asked the NCP chief to take Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis and other leaders on board and try to give justice to the community.
“Pawar listened to the issue carefully and has responded positively,” he said.
The BJP leader, who is a descendant of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, has been visiting parts of the state to discuss with locals from the community regarding the future course of action.
He on Wednesday said if the Uddhav government wants to give reservation under the EWS category, then it can do so by relaxing its conditions and need not go to the Centre for it.
The BJP MP also said if the state government wishes to give reservation under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category, then it has the right to relax its conditions.
“The Maharashtra government need not to go to the Centre for the same. The state should act on it,” the Rajya Sabha member said, adding that he will make his stand further clear over the issue on May 28.
The BJP leader also said if the government does not pay heed to the demands of Marathas, they may need to agitate.
“But in this COVID-19 pandemic time, we can’t let people die by coming out on roads. If we are safe, we can fight for the reservation later,” he said.
The Marathas had put forth their demands earlier and public representatives from the ruling as well as opposition parties in the state should take the responsibility to work for the community’s welfare, he added.
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NCP asks why PM Modi not surveying cyclone-hit areas in Maharashtra
By PTI
MUMBAI: The NCP on Wednesday asked why Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not visiting areas of Maharashtra hit by cyclonic storm Tauktae, even as he was conducting an aerial survey of some of the cyclone-affected parts of neighbouring Gujarat and Diu.Is this not “clear cut discrimination”? Maharashtra minister and NCP’s national spokesperson Nawab Malik wondered.
Before making a landfall in Gujarat late Monday night, the cyclone had claimed seven lives and caused damages in parts of Maharashtra, particularly in its coastal areas.
Prime Minister Modi reached Bhavnagar in Gujarat on Wednesday to review the situation in the state in the aftermath of the cyclone and proceeded for an aerial survey of Una, Diu, Jafarabad and Mahuva, an official said.
After the survey, the PM is scheduled to hold a review meeting at Ahmedabad.
“Today PM Modi ji is taking an ariel survey of #CycloneTauktae affected areas of Daman, Diu and Gujarat.
Why not the same of the areas affected in #Maharashtra? Is this not clear cut discrimination?” Malik asked in a Twitter post.
The NCP is in power in Maharashtra along with the Shiv Sena and Congress as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi.
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SC decision on Maratha quota unfortunate, says Uddhav as verbal volleys start in Maharashtra
By PTI
MUMBAI: Terming the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Maharashtra law granting quota to Marathas in admissions and government jobs as unfortunate, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said the legal battle for the reservations to that community will continue till there is “victory”.In a statement after the apex court verdict, Thackeray said, “With folded hands, we request the prime minister and the president to take an immediate decision on Maratha quota.”
The chief minister said he expects the Centre to show the same alacrity on the Maratha quota issue as it did in delivering verdicts on issues like the Shah Bano case and repeal of Article 370 for which the Constitution was amended.
Thackeray said BJP MP Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje has been seeking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appointment over the Maratha quota issue for the last one year but to no avail.
The apex court has scrapped a decision taken by all parties in the state legislature, he said.
The legal battle for Maratha quota will continue till there is “victory”, Thackeray said.
Earlier in the day, the SC termed the state law on Maratha quota as “unconstitutional” and held there were no exceptional circumstances to breach the 50 per cent reservation cap set by the 1992 Mandal verdict.
The judgement came on a batch of pleas challenging the Bombay High Court verdict which had upheld the grant of reservation to Marathas in admissions and government jobs in the state.
The Maharashtra State Reservation (of seats for admission in educational institutions in the State and for appointments in the public services and posts under the State) for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act 2018 was enacted to grant reservation to people of the Maratha community in the state in jobs and admissions.
The Bombay High Court, while upholding the law in June 2019, had held that 16 per cent reservation was not justifiable and the quota should not exceed 12 per cent in employment and 13 per cent in admissions.
Meanwhile, the BJP on Wednesday blamed the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government for “failing” to convince the Supreme Court over the issue of reservation for the Maratha community in jobs and education.
State BJP president Chandrakant Patil demanded that the state government call an all-party meeting and a special session of the Assembly to discuss the issue.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down the Maharashtra law granting quota to Marathas in admissions and government jobs, terming it as “unconstitutional”, and held there were no exceptional circumstances to breach the 50 per cent reservation cap set by the 1992 Mandal verdict.
“It is a complete failure of the state government. It failed to convince the SC on why it was important to breach the 50 per cent ceiling on quota in extraordinary circumstances, which has been created in the state with regard to the Maratha community,” Patil told reporters in Pune.
He said the previous Devendra Fadnavis-led state government had formed the Backward Class Commission which recommended to consider the Maratha community as backward on three fronts – social, economic, and educational.
The Fadnavis government then enacted the law (in 2018) giving reservation to the Maratha community in jobs and education, which was later challenged in the Bombay High Court.
“The Fadnavis government had successfully convinced the HC that Marathas account for 32 per cent of the state’s population and how it was an extraordinary situation in the state,” he said.
But, the present Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra (comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) has “completely failed the Maratha community”, Patil claimed.
“Youth from the Maratha community should speak up on the issue and mount pressure on the state government,” the BJP leader said.
He demanded that the state government call an all-party meeting over the issue.
“In fact, they should call a special Assembly session on the issue of Maratha quota and the COVID-19 situation in the state,” he said.
Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Council Pravin Darekar said the decision has come as a “complete disappointment” for the Maratha community.
“The law, cleared by both Houses of the state Legislature and upheld by the Bombay High Court, was struck down only because of this state government,” he said.
Vinod Patil, one of the petitioners seeking reservation for Marathas, termed the decision as “unfortunate”.
“We will decide our next move after going through the order in detail,” he said.
After the SC’s order, members of some Maratha organisations staged a protest by wearing black ribbons on their arms in Pune.
“It was necessary on part of the Maharashtra government to explain the state’s stand in the court, but it did not happen,” one of the protesters said.
Another protester termed it as a “black day” for the Marathas, saying youth from the community were hopeful of a decision in their favour.
state minister Ashok Chavan criticised former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for passing the SEBC Act in 2018 without “due rights”.
The apex court struck down the law by terming it “unconstitutional”, and held there were no exceptional circumstances to breach the 50 per cent reservation cap set by the 1992 Mandal verdict.
“The Union government’s 102nd amendment had taken away decisions (read powers) of awarding reservation to the Maratha community because of which the erstwhile Fadnavis government framed the SEBC Act which has been quashed by the Supreme Court,” Chavan, who heads the state sub-committee on Maratha reservation, told a press conference.
“Passing a law when you had no such right amounts to misleading the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and the council by Fadnavis as the then CM.
This amounts to cheating the people by giving them false information,” he alleged.
The 2018 SEBC (Socially and Educationally Backward Communities) Act of Maharashtra was enacted to grant reservation to people of the Maratha community in the state in jobs and admissions.
The Bombay High Court, while upholding the law in June 2019, had held that 16 per cent reservation was not justifiable and the quota should not exceed 12 per cent in employment and 13 per cent in admissions.
Chavan said the SC has “stamped on the fact that Maharashtra state has no right to award any such reservation after the 102 amendment in the Constitution.”
“When the 102nd amendment was passed in Parliament, the Centre had assured that rights of states will remain untouched and that there will be no impact on the acts passed by states.
However, the supreme court has refused this argument and set aside the Maharashtra government’s act of awarding reservation to the Maratha community,” the senior Congress leader said.
The 102nd Constitution amendment Act of 2018 inserted Articles 338B, which deals with the structure, duties and powers of the National Commission for Backward Class, and 342A which deals with the power of the President to notify a particular caste as SEBC and power of Parliament to change the list.
The top court had on March 8, framed six questions for adjudication while terming the issue of interpretation of the 102nd constitutional amendment as of seminal importance.
Meanwhile, another minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik said, “The ball of Maratha reservation is now in the Centre’s court.
The state government is ready to submit a recommendation of awarding reservation to the Maratha community.
“Either the Union government reinstate the state’s rights to grant reservations through the court as assured on the floor of Parliament or it should set up a backward (classes) commission. The state government will submit its recommendations seeking reservation for the Maratha community to the commission,” he added.
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Sharad Pawar discharged from hospital after undergoing mouth ulcer treatment
By PTI
MUMBAI: NCP chief Sharad Pawar was discharged from a hospital here on Wednesday after undergoing a medical procedure to remove a mouth ulcer, Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik said.Pawar, who underwent the procedure on Sunday, was in good health, he added.
“Our party President Sharad Pawar saheb has been discharged from hospital today and is in good health. He will be resting at home as advised by his doctors,” said Malik, national spokesperson of the NCP.
Earlier this month Pawar, 80, had also undergone a gall bladder surgery.
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NCP president Sharad Pawar undergoes medical procedure to remove mouth ulcer
By PTI
MUMBAI: NCP president Sharad Pawar has undergone a medical procedure to remove a mouth ulcer at a hospital in Mumbai, party spokesperson Nawab Malik said on Sunday.The 80-year-old leader is doing well and will resume his activities soon, he said.
Earlier this month, Pawar underwent a gall bladder surgery at the Breach Candy Hospital here.
“Post Gall Bladder surgery of our president Sharad Pawar saheb, a follow up visit & check up at hospital revealed an ulcer in his mouth which has been removed,” Malik tweeted.
“He is well & resting in hospital. Saheb is taking stock of the pandemic situation daily & will resume his activities soon,” the Maharashtra minister added.
Pawar’s party shares power with the Shiv Sena and Congress in Maharashtra.
Earlier, the NCP chief had undergone an emergency endoscopy for the removal of a stone from his bile duct on March 30.
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Nobody above law: NCP, Sena on CBI action against Anil Deshmukh
By PTI
MUMBAI: With the CBI conducting searches at the premises of former Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh, the NCP on Saturday said nobody was above the law, but added that the truth behind the “political conspiracy” against him and the state government would come out through the high court-ordered probe.Talking to reporters, NCP spokesperson and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik said, “Nobody is above the law. Anil Deshmukh is cooperating with the agencies.”
He said he was not aware if any FIR has been registered against Deshmukh.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is yet to reveal for whom suspended police officer Sachin Waze was working when he planted explosives outside industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence, Malik said.
“What was the role of former Mumbai police commissioner (Param Bir Singh) in the case. All these actions are taking place based on the ex-commissioner’s letter,” he alleged.
“This is nothing but misuse of power to malign the state government and Anil Deshmukh. We have full faith in the judiciary and know that the truth behind the political conspiracy will be exposed through the probe,” he said.
The CBI on Saturday conducted searches at Deshmukh’s premises in Mumbai and his hometown Nagpur after registering a case against him in connection with allegations of corruption levelled against him by Param Bir Singh.
Deshmukh, an NCP leader, had resigned as a minister earlier this month after the high court asked the CBI to probe the allegations against him.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut also said that nobody was above the law.
“It is not correct to comment on CBI’s action. Anil Deshmukh had already given his statement in the case. CBI is doing its work, similarly high court and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government are doing their own work,” he said.
“If there is a political agenda in the case against Anil Deshmukh, then the MVA government will take a stand. Hope the action against Deshmukh is restricted to directives of the high court,” he said.
On March 25, Param Bir Singh had filed criminal public interest litigation seeking a CBI probe against Deshmukh, who, he claimed, had asked police officers, including suspended cop Sachin Waze, to extort Rs 100 crore from bars and restaurants.
The Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress share power in Maharashtra.
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Postoperative procedure performed on Sharad Pawar: NCP’s Nawab Malik
By PTI
MUMBAI: A postoperative procedure has been performed on NCP chief Sharad Pawar at a private hospital here, the party spokesperson Nawab Malik said on Wednesday.“Sharad Pawar underwent a follow-up procedure at the Breach Candy hospital on Tuesday late night days after his gall bladder removal surgery which was conducted on April 12. He was admitted to the hospital (for the follow-up procedure) on Tuesday evening,” Malik said.
Malik said Pawar, 80, is recuperating.
Pawar had undergone laparoscopic surgery (a minimally invasive procedure) on his gall bladder at the hospital on April 12.
He was discharged on April 15.
Earlier, the NCP president had undergone an emergency endoscopy for the removal of a stone from his bile duct at the hospital on March 30.
Pawar’s party shares power with the Shiv Sena and Congress in Maharashtra.