Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh, chief ministers of Nationalist Democratic Alliance-ruled states and prominent personalities from industry and Bollywood on Thursday attended the grand swearing-in of Devendra Fadnavis as Maharashtra Chief Minister in Mumbai.
An editorial in the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray mouthpiece Saamana claimed the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has not only 'muddied' politics of Maharashtra but also of the country.
Nationalist Congress chief and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar spoke to journalists in New Delhi on his future plans and what could happen in the next general elections. Sheela Bhatt listens in.
Nationalist Congress Party chief and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar is ready to become the country's prime minister, provided there is a consensus, said party leader and Union Heavy Industries Minister Praful Patel. Patel was quick to add that any talk on this right now is premature.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said although his outfit does not agree with the demand of anti-Bharatiya Janata Party outfits for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into allegations against the Adani group, it will not go against their stand for the sake of Opposition unity.
All the three leaders expressed their best wishes to her, sources said.
Nationalist Congress Party workers on Friday attempted to assault a small-time transporter, who had slapped Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, in a court complex when he was taken for remand proceedings.
A senior TMC leader will be present at the proposed meeting, he said.
Patel insisted that the meeting with Shah and other BJP leaders was a "courtesy call" as he and Ajit Pawar had not met them formally since joining the ruling alliance in Maharashtra.
The Narendra Modi government will purchase all farm produce at minimum support price, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in Rajya Sabha on Friday.
With Pawar backing farmers' protest against the contentious agri reforms, government sources on Sunday pointed out that as the agriculture minister in the UPA dispensation he had asked chief ministers to amend the APMC Act in their states to allow the private sector to play an important role in the field.
Close to half of the country is reeling under drought or drought-like situation with the number of districts affected rising to 246 as a poor monsoon has brought 29 per cent less rainfall, damaging standing crop.
"One cannot compromise on science. Nehru was persistent about his wish to form a society with a scientific temperament. But what is happening today at the inaugural ceremony of the new Parliament building is exactly the opposite of what Nehru had envisaged," he said.
"Our party president Sharad Pawar saheb was feeling a little uneasy due to a pain in his abdomen last evening and was therefore taken to Breach Candy Hospital for a check-up. Upon diagnosis it came to light that he has a problem in his gall bladder," Nawab Malik tweeted.
Harvinder Singh, who had slapped Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, has now claimed before a Delhi court to be "unaware" of the incident saying he had "lost his senses" at that time as he suffered a bout of "mental disorder".
The NCP chief said the Congress leader has 'done a service to the Congress and the nation' by not assuming the post of prime minister.
Union Ministers and Ministers of State will now require the Prime Minister's prior approval before going on official foreign tours and they will also have to keep the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) informed about their private foreign visits.
Pawar said the decision to float a fresh wheat import tender on government account this week was also correct.
The state, reeling under drought, is to hold assembly elections September this year.
After committing a faux pas in his reaction to the attack on Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Anna Hazare said on Thursday that he was ready to apologise if his remark was perceived to be "wrong".
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.
The issue of austerity measures came up at the meeting of the Union Cabinet on Thursday with ministers seeking clarification on the economy drive launched by the government.The issue came up for an impromptu discussion when the Cabinet gave its approval to hike the Dearness Allowance for central government employees from 22 per cent to 27 per cent.
Devendra Fadnavis is the frontrunner to become the next chief minister of Maharashtra, according to a senior BJP leader.
'It is everyone's desire and demand that Pawar saheb remains the NCP chief'
As suspense over who will become the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra continues, Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Sunday backed his party's chief, Ajit Pawar, for the top post.
Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar's face-off with the United Progressive Alliance was a camouflaged attempt to hide his failure to deliver as the Agriculture Minister, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union minister Ram Naik said on Wednesday.
Wading into the ongoing Indian Premier League controversy, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Friday accused Union Minister and former BCCI chief Sharad Pawar for the mess in the Twenty20 league.
In his Marathi autobiography Lok Maze Saangati published in 2015, Pawar has lavished praise on Adani describing him as 'hard-working, simple, down to earth' and with ambition to make big in the infrastructure sector.
Speaking at a rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on Saturday, Raj Thackeray had criticised Sharad Pawar, accusing him of 'playing the caste card from time to time and dividing society'.
"I am very confident that if the elections happen, I will win without any opposition, which Dalmiya does not want," the Union Agriculture Minister said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar supremo Sharad Pawar were among the famous faces who queued up at the polling booths on Tuesday to caste their votes in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra will retain power with full majority and a decision on who will be the chief minister will be taken by the alliance partners after the state polls.
That's a surprise since his protege Praful Patel has shouted down requests this week
A senior source in the Maharashtra government reveals that the unfolding investigation in the Adarsh society scam is the main reason for the recent face-off between Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress.
A senior source in the Maharashtra government reveals that the unfolding investigation in the Adarsh society scam is the main reason for the recent face-off between Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress.
More than 750 houses and crops on over 33,000 hectares were damaged in Dharashiv district, where helicopters and boats had to be deployed to rescue stranded people, they said.
The former Union minister also said that he does not take seriously the threat calls he received earlier this week.
Seeking to firm up a new political address after his suspension from Samajwadi Party, actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar Friday met former prime minister V P Singh and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar.
The states and union territories where the elections are being held in this phase are Assam (4), Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (7), Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (2), Goa (2), Gujarat (25), Karnataka (14), Maharashtra (11), Madhya Pradesh (8), Uttar Pradesh (10) and West Bengal (4). The BJP has bagged the Surat seat unopposed.
Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Wednesday met Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, amid speculation about the possible political realignment following the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam pulling out from the ruling United Progressive Alliance.
