Virtually cocking a snook at the Congress Working Committee which had criticised Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar failing to control the price rise, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh praised the Pawar for doing a splendid job. The praise came just a day after the CWC meeting, when the prime minister addressed the chief ministers during a conclave on price rise.
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Thursday brushed off all allegations and reiterated his support for the introduction of Bt brinjal. He asserted that the introduction of the genetically modified brinjal can take place as it has been recommended by Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), a scientific body, after carrying out a series of trials and tests on its impact on nature.
Blaming Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar for the unprecedented rise in price of food and other essential commodities, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Wednesday demanded his immediate removal from the post.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday termed Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's recent statement that sugar prices will be high for the next three years, as 'irresponsible.'
With the Left parties' withdrawal of support from the Manmohan Singh led United Progressive Alliance creating a political uncertainty at the Centre, some leaders have started efforts to woo Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K Chandrasekhara Rao, to secure his support for the beleaguered coalition."I told him clearly that we will extend support to the UPA only if the government announces the formation of Telangana state," Rao told reporters in Hyderabad.
'Yes, we have come far. We have progressed. Does that give us comfort? Probably, not. We have to solve more complex problems to move forward and we are impatient.'
Shiv Sena working president Uddhav Thackeray had a hush-hush meeting with Nationalist Congress Party president and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Tuesday night at the Pawars's official residence in New Delhi.
The meeting was earlier planned to discuss price rise and formulate an action plan to combat it. But as Union agriculture, food and civil supplies minister Sharad Pawar is in Maharashtra and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is camping in Kolkata, the meeting has been rescheduled for October 19.
In an exclusive interview with rediff.com's Onkar Singh on Wednesday, Chaturvedi spoke at length about the allegations. Excerpts:
AICC functionary Satyavrat Chaturvedi attacks UPA ally NCP and holds Sharad Pawar responsible for the current problems facing the country.
"It is not all right to arrive at the conclusion that the entire Pune city has been targetted," Pawar said, adding that the place where the blast took place was an isolated area.
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar was on Friday admitted to Escorts Hospital in Delhi after he complained of restlessness and uneasiness.
Shiv Sena spokesman Rahul Narvekar, who recently withdrew his candidature from the legislative council elections, met Nationalist Congress Party chief and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Sunday morning.
The government on Tuesday informed Rajya Sabha that GST compensation of Rs 17,176 crore is pending to states as on June 2022. Replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said the Centre is giving GST compensation to states for five years. He said even during Covid times when no GST was collected, the Government of India had given compensation to states after taking loans of Rs 1.1 lakh crore and 1.59 lakh crore during 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Heckling, confrontation and strong-arm tactics don't come to him easily, reveals Aditi Phadnis.
The actor-turned-politician whose criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has grown progressively sharper, didn't figure on the BJP's list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls.
The Election Commission on Monday issued a notice to Union Agriculture Minister and Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar for alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct for the October 13 assembly elections in Maharshtra.
India and Australia would now implement the free trade agreement on a mutually agreed date as the Australian Parliament on Tuesday approved the pact between the two countries. "BREAKING: Our Free Trade Agreement with India has passed through parliament," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a tweet. The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA) needed ratification by the Australian parliament before its implementation.
Sarma's name was proposed by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and seconded by BJP state party president Ranjeet Kumar Dass and newly elected Haflong MLA Nandita Garlosa.
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said that the new sugar season will begin with much lower stocks, as the production will be hit by lower sugar recovery from cane after the failure of monsoon rains.
The octogenarian leader said he agreed with Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar that these tactics to gain free publicity should be ignored. Without naming Raj, Thackeray said 'chicken in state politics are suffering from bird flu of depression', and hence they have no value.
Party sources said apart from the Railway and General Budget, the government wanted to initiate some key legislation during the session to send a political message to voters. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal has also planned to hold a meeting of the secretaries of different ministries to know each ministry's priority agenda. "We have to set the government's agenda accordingly," Bansal said.
'The BJP's real weapons are Hindutva, organisation and finance.'
The BCCI president blamed the media for raking up controversy.
The Congress expressed its 'whole-hearted' support to the 'Bharat bandh' called by farmer unions against the new agri-marketing laws and announced that it will hold protests that day at all district and state headquarters in solidarity with the demands of the farmers. TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the party rank and file would actively participate in the bandh to ensure it was a success.
Union Agriculture Minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, admitted to Escorts Hospital in New Delhi following complaints of exhaustion, underwent angioplasty on Saturday and doctors said his condition was stable.
Police insisted that there was no clash with the protesters and that the cops at the site were facilitating the protesters and ensuring a peaceful gathering.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Monday successfully launched a second generation navigation satellite, using a GSLV rocket with a cryogenic upper stage to do the job.
Sonia made the announcement while addressing a press conference at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence at 7, Race Course Road.
The TDP chief said he tried to speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a 'courtesy' to inform him about the decision to quit but he did not come on line.
Softening the demonetisation blow, the Budget for 2017-18 on Wednesday halved the tax to 5 per cent on incomes up to Rs 500,000 but proposed a new surcharge of 10 per cent on incomes between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore and raised duties on cigarettes and pan masala while stepping up allocations for infrastructure, rural, agriculture and social sectors.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farmer unions, will be holding a mahapanchayat in Lucknow on Monday in a show of strength days after the Prime Minister's announcement of repealing the three farm laws.
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.
The decision was taken in a BJP legislature party meeting held here on Thursday. After the meeting, Kataria told reporters that the motion of no confidence will be moved in the assembly session beginning Friday. He said the proposal was being finalised.
The Mumbai Cricket Association requested the Maharashtra government to allot it a plot of land for building a bigger stadium in the southern part of the metropolis.
'Scindia did not just come to a new party, it was an ideological shift for him. In the past one and a half years, Scindia never lost communication with RSS leaders in the state. He left no stone unturned to ensure his acceptability in the party'
The government would not extend export freight assistance to sugar mills beyond September, Union Agriculture and Food Minister Sharad Pawar said on Friday. On August 29, Finance Minister P Chidambaram had said the government must end assistance to sugar exporters since enough sugar had been exported out of the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in the United States for a three-day state visit, has gifted an eco-friendly lab-grown 7.5 carat diamond, placed in Kashmir's exquisite Papier mache box, to First Lady Jill Biden.
Pawar said the UPA-Left committee constituted to iron out the differences had already held four rounds of "good discussions and we hope both sides would amicably and with full responsibility settle the issue in our future meetings".