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Tag: Sharad Pawar

  • Maharashtra Transport Minister holds talks with Sharad Pawar on MSRTC employees strike

    By ANI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab met NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday morning and held talks regarding the ongoing strike by Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) employees.

    The employees of MSRTC have been protesting for the last 15 days. Today is the 16th day of the protest.

    So far 2,053 MSRTC employees have been suspended, a state transport department official said.

    On November 8, the Maharashtra government issued a Government Resolution to form a three-member committee, headed by Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte, to look into the demands of the employees of MSRTC.

    Earlier Bombay High Court had instructed the state government to form a committee to look into the demands of MSRTC employees which include the merger of the corporation with the state government to avail the benefits, and salary hikes.

    The court had also said that after discussing with the stakeholders of MSRTC and the union, all the recommendations must be submitted in a report to the chief minister within 12 weeks.

  • Key decisions by Uddhav government helped in bringing down COVID: Pawar

    Pawar was talking to reporters at 'Govind Baug', his residence at Baramati in Pune district, on the occasion of his family's get-together for Diwali celebration.

  • Centre acting against interests of workers; should not remain in power: NCP chief Sharad Pawar

    By PTI

    PUNE: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday accused the BJP-led central government of acting against the interests of workers and claimed that it was making changes in law so that employees can be removed from service any time.

    He said that those who are against the interests of workers should not be in power.

    Pawar also alleged that the Centre was trying to pose financial hurdles before Maharashtra by not releasing the GST dues.

    Addressing the workers of his party in Pimpri Chinchwad, an industrial township near Pune city, he also told them how Hindustan Antibiotics (HA) as well as several automobile companies were set up there.

    “The present Union government is against the interests of workers. Now anyone can be thrown out of job at any time. The BJP government at the Centre is bringing changes in law so that workers can be removed from service any time. This move is 100 per cent not in the interests of workers,” he said.

    “Those who are against the interest of workers should not be in power…we all have to tell this to them, and for that Pimpri Chinchwad can be one of the cities which will give this strong message,” he added.

    But the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state is going to work for industries and employment generation, he asserted.

    The NCP shares power with the Shiv Sena and the Congress in the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government.

    Sharing an anecdote about how the Hindustan Antibiotics started functioning in Pimpri Chinchwad and how manufacturing of penicillin began, he said when Mahatma Gandhi was living with his wife Kasturba Gandhi in a bungalow on Ahmednagar Road in Pune, Kasturba Gandhi was battling a disease that needed a specific type of medicine which was not being produced in India at that time.

    Later she died due to the illness.

    “When the then prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited Gandhi after that, the latter told Nehru about the non-availability of medicine in India. It was then that Nehru took a decision and the HA was formed,” he said.

    Pawar also shared how Tata’s vehicle manufacturing company was retained in Maharashtra and set up in Pimpri Chinchwad.

    “When we were in power, we tried to keep the industry afloat. We worked towards the decentralization of industries. The then chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan decided to go for decentralization of industries. Then industries started functioning in Thane and Pimpri Chinchwad,” Pawar said.

    “Chavan also met JRD Tata and requested him to set up the company in Pimpri Chinchwad instead of Jamshedpur. He personally met Tata and promised to extend all help to set up the company in Pimpri Chinchwad. The same happened with Bajaj, Telco and others…special efforts were taken by the government,” he said.

    Pawar said that as a Union agriculture minister for 10 years between 2004 and 2014, he and the UPA government worked to change the situation and India became an exporter of wheat.

    Earlier, India used to import rice, but now it is one of the topmost countries that exports it, he said.

    “We worked towards using our power for the betterment of the farmers who can solve the hunger issues, but now the BJP is doing exactly the opposite,” he said.

  • Do not upset farmers of Punjab, a border state: NCP supremo Sharad Pawar’s advise to Centre

    By PTI

    PUNE: Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the Union government should handle the ongoing agitation against new farm laws with sensitivity, keeping in mind that majority of protesters are from Punjab, a border state.

    The country has paid the price of upsetting Punjab in the past, he said, referring to former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination during Khalistan militancy.

    Speaking to reporters at Pimpri near here, Pawar, who has handled defense and agriculture portfolios at the Centre, was replying to a question about the farmers’ agitation on Delhi borders which has been going on for several months.

    “I have been there (to the protest site) two-three times. The Union government’s stand does not seem rational,” he said.

    “Participants in the agitation are from many states including Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, but most of them are from Punjab, Pawar noted.

    “My advise to the Union government is, do not let farmers of Punjab get upset, it is a border state. If we upset the farmers and people from border regions, then there will be other ramifications,” he said.

    “Our country has paid the price of upsetting Punjab, even (then prime minister) Indira Gandhi lost her life. On the other hand, farmers of Punjab, irrespective of whether they are Sikh or Hindu, have contributed to food supply,” the NCP chief said.

    People living in border areas face several security-related issues which those living in states such as Maharashtra do not experience, he said.

    “Therefore, when a person who is making sacrifices is siting in protest with some demands for a long time, paying attention to him is what the nation requires,” Pawar added.

  • I insisted that Uddhav become CM of Maharashtra when MVA was formed: Pawar’s snipe at Fadnavis

    Sharad Pawar reiterated his allegations that the Centre was misusing various agencies to destabilise the tripartite government of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress in Maharashtra.

  • Congrats: Sharad Pawar’s dig at Devendra Fadnavis over his ‘I still feel CM’ remarks

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Taking a dig at senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, who had said that he still feels as chief minister of Maharashtra, NCP president Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said he lacked this trait even though he had served as CM for four times.

    Fadnavis hit back saying some leaders are unhappy over his achievements as a former chief minister who completed his full five-year term, unlike Pawar.

    “It’s good that the BJP leader still considers himself as the chief minister. I congratulate him. After being the chief minister for five years, Fadnavis still feels he is holding the post. I lacked this trait. I had served as chief minister (of Maharashtra) four times. But I don’t even remember,” Pawar told reporters in Mumbai.

    He also referred to Fadnavis’ famous “Me Punha Yein” (I will return) slogan which had become popular before the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections.

    The slogan had become a subject of ridicule and inspired many mock-filled messages and WhatsApp memes taking a dig at the BJP leader.

    Fadnavis, while speaking at an event in Navi Mumbai, had said that the people of Maharashtra never made me feel that I am not the chief minister.

    “I still feel that I am chief minister as I have been roaming in the state over the last two years. The love and affection of people have not receded,” he had said.

    On Wednesday, he hit back at Pawar saying some leaders are unhappy over his achievements as a former chief minister.

    “Pawar never completed a full five-year term even though he had served as CM for four times,” Fadnavis said in Panaji.

    “People have not listened to my exact speech given in Navi Mumbai but are jumping on to react over the issue. The fact is that I am the only chief minister in the last 40 years who has completed his full five year term.

    Sharad Pawar also became chief minister of Maharashtra four times but he never completed a full five-year term.

    “These party leaders are unhappy because of my achievements. I am also happy in my current posting as Leader of Opposition,” he told reporters.

    Fadnavis became the chief minister of Maharashtra after the 2014 elections and went on to complete a full term, something which no chief minister of the state had managed in the previous three decades.

    After the Shiv Sena walked out of the alliance with the BJP after the 2019 polls, he forged a tie-up with a breakaway group of NCP MLAs led by Ajit Pawar and was sworn in as chief minister with Pawar as his deputy.

    But this government lasted only for three days for want of the numbers and was replaced by an alliance of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, headed by Uddhav Thackeray.

    On a bandh observed in Maharashtra on Monday by the Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, Fadnavis said it was good that Pawar himself admitted how Shiv Sena succeeded in organising the shutdown by threatening the people.

    “An incident happened in Uttar Pradesh but here Maharashtra government used its own state machinery to make the bandh successful. Shiv Sena workers were openly threatening shop owners. It was a state-sponsored suppression due to which people got scared and remained in their homes,” he alleged.

    Fadnavis said he was happy that Pawar had admitted what happens when Shiv Sena gives a call for bandh and how it uses its force against the people to close down the business activities.

    Commenting on raids by CBI on the premises linked to former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh who belongs to the NCP, he said, “CBI officials could visit Deshmukh’s home only because of the order issued by the Bombay High Court. The Maharashtra government has withdrawn its support to cooperate with the CBI when there are at least 80 different cases of corruption, bank frauds among others”.

    Fadnavis said the way Central agencies are treated in Maharashtra, it is highly objectionable.

  • Central agencies including Enforcement Directorate, CBI, NCB, being misused to target opposition: Sharad Pawar 

    The NCP, which shares power in Maharashtra with the Shiv Sena and Congress, had earlier said it will face the onslaught of central agencies on its leaders and workers will full vigour.

  • BJP targeting kin of Maharashtra ministers, never seen such ‘blatant misuse of power’: Sharad Pawar

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday alleged that since the BJP failed to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, it was targeting close relatives and associates of the ministers in the state government.

    Addressing a press conference, the veteran politician said that in his 56 years of career, he had never seen such “blatant misuse of power” by the central government.  His statement comes days after the Income Tax sleuths searched the properties of relatives of NCP leader and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.

    “BJP has been trying to unstable Uddhav Thackeray-led government, but has failed in all its attempts. Therefore, as a new strategy, they are targeting the people who are close to or relatives of the ministers. The raid is not at Ajit Pawar but on the properties owned by his sisters and son. A similar thing happened with Congress minister Ashok Chavan and Shiv Sena minister Subhash Desai whose close associates and relatives were targetted by conducting raids,” Pawar said. 

    Pawar also took jibe at former CM Devendra Fadnavis for his statement that he still felt like being the CM. “It is a good thing that I couldn’t  feel so even though I was a four-time CM,” Pawar said.

    ‘Deputy CM’s sisters have no big assets’

    Pawar said the sisters of Ajit Pawar had nothing to do with politics. They were leading middle-class lives and did not own big properties but their houses were raided.

  • NCP chief Sharad Pawar decides not to succumb to pressure tactics of BJP amidst raids against ministers 

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI: In view of the barrage of summons and raids by the central agencies against the NCP ministers and leaders, the NCP chief Sharad Pawar called a meeting of his party leaders on Tuesday and decided not to succumb to the pressure of the BJP but to fight it out.

    The Income Tax department has been conducting raids at sugar factories and other properties linked to Dy CM Ajit Pawar, his son Parth Pawar and his sister in the last three days.

    Earlier, ex-home minister Anil Deshmukh’s premises in Nagpur and Mumbai were raided by CBI and IT department several times in connection with former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh’s explosive Rs 100 crore collection letter. Besides, other leaders including housing minister Jitendra Awhad and the NCP leader Eknath Khadse etc., have been also targeted by the central agencies.

    Nawab Malik, chief spokesperson of NCP, said in the meeting with NCP chief Sharad Pawar that it was decided not to be afraid of the inquiries of the central agencies but to face firmly. He said that the central agencies on the behest of the BJP are targeting their political opponents.

    “We will not succumb to the pressure tactics of the BJP through central agencies. BJP is out of power and they are very desperate to come back to power in Maharashtra, therefore they are using all tricks from the book to harass us. But BJP should understand that the agencies’ actions against the NCP and other leaders will not make much difference over the government in the state. In fact, such action with a vendetta is strengthening the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. We are more confident of surviving this government,” Nawab Malik said.

    He also said it is crystal clear that the BJP is misusing the central agencies to target their political opponents but it will yield little result to them. “We are firm and have decided to extend support to all our leaders who are facing the probe of the central agencies. We are also sure that such barrage of notices, summons and raids will boomerang to BJP as it happened when ED issued notice to the NCP president Sharad Pawar. That one notice of ED changed the political situations in Maharashtra,” said the senior NCP minister adding that the recent local body elections results shows that the people are backing Maha Vikas Aghadi, not the BJP.

  • My comparison of Lakhimpur violence to Jallianwala Bagh led to I-T raids on Ajit Pawar’s kin: NCP chief

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: NCP president Sharad Pawar on Friday reiterated that the Income Tax Department’s raids on Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s relatives and aides came after his comparison of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in Uttar Pradesh to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre during the British rule.

    Speaking at a meeting of his party in Solapur, Pawar wondered if people had the right to express their views freely in the country.

    “The I-T raids were carried out because I likened the Lakhimpur Kheri violence to Jallianwala Bagh massacre…Don’t we have the right to air our views in democracy?” he asked.

    ​VIEW GALLERY | ‘Fascism’, ‘Jallianwala Bagh’, ‘Hitler’: Lakhimpur Kheri farmers’ killing leads to strong reactions by Opposition leaders

    The I-T department on Thursday raided some businesses linked to family members of Ajit Pawar and some real estate developers on charges of alleged tax evasion.

    The premises linked to business groups such as DB Realty, Shivalik, Jarandeshwar Sahkari Sugar Karkhana (Jarandeshwar SSK) and businesses linked to Ajit Pawar’s sisters were raided during the operation, official sources had said.

    On Tuesday, Pawar had drawn a parallel between the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, in which eight persons were killed, and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, and said people would show the BJP its place.

    The former Union minister on Friday alleged that the BJP-led central government was leaving no stone unturned to trouble the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government (of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) in Maharashtra.

    “The state government is not being given its rightful share in the central funds,” he added.

    ​ALSO READ | I-T sleuths raid Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s sugar factories, sisters’ properties

    “We need to remove the BJP from our path. In the recent bypolls of local bodies, the MVA allies, which contested separately, won 70 per cent of the seats. There is no doubt in my mind that if we fight together we will get better results. We have to now figure out how to contest the future elections,” he said.

    Pawar accused the BJP of being “anti farmer” and indulging in “misuse of power”.

    He said that a complete shutdown should be observed during the October 11 ‘Maharashtra bandh’ and it should be carried out in a peaceful manner.

    “Nothing should be open except the essential services,” he said.

    The Maharashtra Cabinet had on Wednesday expressed regret over the death of farmers in the violence at Lakhimpur Kheri, while the ruling allies here called for a statewide bandh on October 11 to protest against the incident in the Uttar Pradesh district as they sought to corner the BJP over the tragedy.

    The Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress, allies in the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), gave the call for Maharashtra bandh to protest against the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri, where eight people, four of them farmers, were killed on Sunday.