'Now Modi ji is saying it is his guarantee that every corrupt person will be made a minister'
The matter of disqualification of 16 MLAs following the upheaval in the undivided Shiv Sena last year could have been effectively dealt with had the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) moved swiftly after the resignation of Nana Patole as the Speaker of Maharashtra Assembly, said senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar on Friday.
NCP leaders Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal, Congress leaders and former chief ministers Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj and former speakers Dilip Walse Patil (NCP) and Haribhau Bagade of the Bharatiya Janata Party were among the members to take oath early.
If these MLAs return to the NCP, Ajit Pawar's support will reduce further.
Senior NCP leader Hasan Mushrif admitted that Ajit Pawar was holding talks with NCP (SP) leaders on the merger of the two factions before his death.
The Nationalist Congress Party leader did not name Borwankar, but said some allegations had been levelled against him by "a retired IPS officer who had served in Pune as commissioner of police."
Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister-designate Ajit Pawar has always been known in state political circles as the real power centre in Nationalist Congress Party founded by his uncle Sharad Pawar 11 years ago.
Maharashtra NCP president Sunil Tatkare has acknowledged awareness of merger talks between his party and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP-SP, while reaffirming the party's commitment to the BJP-led NDA alliance.
Ajit Pawar said that industry had 'lost its soul' in Pran's death.
Senior BJP leaders Chandrakant Patil, Vinod Tawade and Girish Mahajan attended the meeting held at the official residence of the chief minister, the party sources said.
Talking to reporters in Amravati, Sule, a Lok Sabha MP, said Pawar, a senior NCP leader, had requested the Prime Minister's Office to allow him to speak at the event.
Citing Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar president Sharad Pawar on Saturday supported a probe into the controversial land deal allegedly linked to the company of his grandnephew Parth Pawar.
Sharad Pawar said everyone has a place in the "house".
Senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil has ruled out the possibility of a merger between the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party, stating that talks ceased following the death of Ajit Pawar.
Amid clamour for his resignation over controversial remarks on drought, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said any decision on the issue would be taken only after consulting party legislators.
Over 100 workers of the MSRTC had staged the protest outside 'Silver Oak', Pawar's bungalow on Pedder Road in south Mumbai on Friday afternoon, catching the police unawares.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar chief Sharad Pawar stood up when he came face to face with his estranged nephew and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar at an official meeting in Pune on Saturday.
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar was admitted to a private hospital in Pune after experiencing cough and breathing difficulties. Doctors are evaluating his condition.
"We realised that we don't have the required numbers to form the government and we don't want to indulge in horse-trading," Fadnavis told reporters after announcing his decision.
The 83-year-old former Union minister emphasised his status as an undefeated politician since he became an MLA in 1967 at the age of 27 and said, "I have my own experiences."
NCP chief Sharad Pawar told reporters that his nephew Ajit deliberately made those remarks to avoid media.
Pawar's comments were at variance from ally Shiv Sena-UBT, whose leader Sanjay Raut had said PM Modi should come forward to inform about his academic qualification and that his degree should be displayed at the entrance of the Parliament building.
The ACB, in its affidavit submitted in the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay high court, has ruled out Pawar's involvement in cases of alleged irregularities in irrigation projects in the Vidarbha region.
The businessmen in the Maharashtra have given a cry of 'remove Ajit Pawar' against the high tariff of electricity.
NCP Maharashtra president Sunil Tatkare reaffirms the party's commitment to the BJP-led NDA, dismissing merger speculations and emphasizing the ideology of the late Ajit Pawar.
The ED said in a statement that it has attached the properties including land, building and structure and plant and machinery of Jarandeshwar Sahkari Sugar Karkhana at Chimangaon, Koregaon, Satara worth Rs 65,75,00,000 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering in a case related to Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank (MSCB).
The accused were allegedly complicit in causing losses to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore to MSCB between 2007 and 2011.
'Look at the impropriety of the Anti-Corruption Bureau giving Ajit Pawar a clean chit!'
With this allocation of portfolios, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP has got most of the 'plum' ministries.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday said he did not have any connection with Guru Commodity Services Pvt Ltd which is under the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) scanner, though a sugar mill owned by the company is being run by one of his relatives.
A swift move by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Ajit Pawar's resignation could have thrown the too-clever NCP into utter confusion and secured a belaboured Congress an opportunity to come out smelling of roses, says Mahesh Vijapurkar
The MLA claimed his name had figured in the list of nine ministers of NCP, including Ajit Pawar who took oath last Sunday.
NCP MP Sunil Tatkare's remarks came amid the suspense over a merger of the two NCP factions
Facing a storm of protest over his "urine" remarks on drought situation in Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar sat on a day-long 'aatma-klesh' (penance) fast at Karad in Satara district Sunday morning.
In the video, Srinivas Pawar (60), while talking to residents of Katewadi village in Baramati, said the NCP founder had stood with Ajit Pawar through thick and thin.
Shiv Sena on Monday continued to demand the resignation of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in the Legislative Council over his controversial remarks on drought and load-shedding.
An Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Baramati Lok Sabha constituency has accused Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar of threatening villagers of cutting off their water supply if they did not vote for Supriya Sule, Nationalist Congress Party nominee and daughter of the party chief Sharad Pawar.
NCP leader Ajit Pawar said that the tri-party alliance has passed the first test and was confident of clearing the second test regarding the election of the Speaker.
However, induction in the NCP-SP will come with riders, asserted the former Union minister.
Sharad Pawar objected to comparing PM Modi with Jawaharlal Nehru, highlighting Nehru's sacrifices and nation-building contributions.
