Latest news with #Pawar
Indian Express
10 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
How Sharad Pawar lost the plot in cooperatives where he called the shots
What was supposed to be a run-of-the-mill election to the Malegaon Cooperative Sugar Mill in Maharashtra's Baramati district has now become a talking point in state politics. With NCP president and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's panel bagging 20 seats in the 21-member board of the Malegaon Cooperative Sugar Mill in its elections, the development is being seen as a further erosion of his estranged uncle and NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar's grip on the cooperative sector in the state. For Ajit now appears to be dominating what was once Pawar's bastion. The Sharad Pawar-backed panel was routed in the Malegaon sugar mill polls. Pawar has always been connected to cooperatives – in areas ranging from sugar mills to banks – in the course of his decades-long political career. The Maratha stalwart inherited the legacy of political heavyweights like Vasantdada Patil and Yashwantrao Chavan, who had in the early period of Maharashtra nurtured the fledgling cooperatives sector. Pawar is credited to have strengthened the cooperatives sector, especially in ensuring its financial viability and building it up as a political powerhouse in the state. When Pawar decided to leave the Congress in 1999 to set up the NCP, a majority of the cooperative sugar mill barons in the state had backed him. A Maharashtra cooperative bank's former managing director said that Pawar has long understood the 'link between political power and the cooperatives sector'. 'Successful cooperative leaders were most likely to be successful politicians, especially in the sugar belt of Western Maharashtra. But for leaders to be successful, the cooperatives should have easy access to funds. Money is necessary to both keep the electorate happy and to ensure institutions are running well. And in the case of losses, help from the government in the form of easy loans, guarantees or favourable policies come in handy,' he said. The cooperatives have, however, been both power centres as well as weak points for Pawar. For instance, sugar mills on an average have voter bases ranging from 20,000 to 30,000, and a successful chairman or director would be able to command a sizeable share of them in the local, state or national elections. In the 2000s, the NCP was known as a Western Maharashtra party, given that most of its members and leaders were drawn from the cooperatives that lined this region. Ajit himself had started his career in the cooperatives sector, and it was here that he honed his skills as a politician and built his own support base that stood by him when he rebelled against Pawar in 2023. Ajit made his electoral debut in the cooperatives, winning his first poll to become the director of the Baramati Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee in the early 1980s. While Pawar became busy with politics at the state and national levels, local and cooperative politics were left to his nephew. From running the Malegaon Cooperative Sugar Mill to his directorship of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank, it was Ajit who ruled the roost. Though cooperatives gave rise to a ready crop of leaders, they often sought proximity to power regardless of ideological affiliations. 'There is a simple reason for this – being near power allows for easy access to funds, which somehow always seemed too short for cooperatives,' said a managing director of a cooperative sugar mill, adding that aligning with the parties in power always helped in the state. Consequently, when power at the state level changed hands, the chances of cooperative leaders jumping ship would rise. 'If one analyses the leadership of the undivided NCP, it was almost a collection of leaders who had come together for power. The grassroots-level penetration of ideology or the support base depended mostly on the leaders. Barring a few, every one else was amenable to jumping ship,' the managing director added. When Ajit decided to split the NCP in 2023 and join the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra, a large section of the undivided party's MLAs and leaders also joined him. Ajit, among other cooperative leaders, was facing multiple cases of alleged financial irregularities involving cooperatives, including probes by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). After Ajit's revolt, only a handful of senior cooperative leaders – including former state ministers Jayant Patil and Balasaheb Patil – stood by Pawar's faction. The Malegaon sugar mill's election appears to have further dented Pawar's hold over the cooperatives sector in the state. 'The reason for the leaders' mass migration (from the Pawar camp to the Ajit faction) is simple – they wanted to be on the right side of power. If anything, the Malegaon results have cemented Ajit dada's base in the cooperative sector,' an NCP leader said.
Time of India
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Pawar Sr supports march but ‘against forcing Tendulkar'
Kolhapur: While the NCP (SP) has declared support to the July 5 protest march against the "imposition of Hindi," the party's chief on Friday said celebrities such as cricketer should not be insisted upon to express their views on making Hindi a must in the Maharashtra school curriculum. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "Ask Sachin about cricket; don't force him to take a stand on Hindi imposition," he said. Pawar was responding to Raj Thackeray's statement on Thursday that he wanted to see who — especially Marathi artists and sportspersons — turn up and who do not for the protest march against the govt's policy. "I don't know what Raj Thackeray meant by that. Why should one insist that Sachin Tendulkar puts his views across (on the issue of Hindi impoistion)? Ask him about cricket; he is 'badshah', a big name in the world of cricket. I can understand if he is asked to share his views about some aspect of cricket. Don't ask such personalities about issues not related to them. The issue of imposition of Hindi is important for us. Someone seeking their views and saying 'will see who comes for the protest and who does not' is not good," Pawar said. On the march, NCP (SP) state president Jayant Patil said, "We are against imposition of Hindi on primary school students. We have decided to participate in the protest march."
Indian Express
21 hours ago
- Health
- Indian Express
Sassoon Hospital to undergo big upgrades; Madhuri Misal reviews progress
In a bid to modernise one of Maharashtra's oldest government hospitals, Minister of State for Medical Education Madhuri Misal conducted a detailed review meeting at Sassoon General Hospital on Friday. The session focused on addressing infrastructure gaps, patient care challenges and long-pending staff vacancies. During the meeting, the hospital administration provided an overview of Sassoon's legacy and facilities, while key developments and future plans were discussed, including substantial investments in new medical equipment and patient services. Among the core developments, the hospital is set to acquire advanced medical machines: a new CT scan (Rs 7.5 crore), MRI (Rs 27 crore), and a cath lab (Rs 17 crore). Plans are also underway to increase the bed capacity by 550, offering relief to overcrowded wards. The outpatient department (OPD) is currently undergoing renovation under the 'OPD under one roof' initiative. However, temporary relocation of departments has created difficulties for patients. 'To address this, we will start three electric vehicles for internal patient transport within 10 to 15 days,' said Dr Eknath Pawar, dean of B J Government Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital. Efforts are being made to speed up police reports required for post-mortem cases. A dedicated police team is working with the hospital, particularly due to the shortage of post-mortem centres in the city. Additional CCTV cameras with centralized monitoring are also being installed to strengthen hospital security. The upcoming Rs 860 crore Cancer Centre remains a key focus, encompassing infrastructure, equipment, and patient amenities. However, radiation therapy services are yet to be included due to structural constraints. 'Since radiation units require underground installation, it is a bit challenging,' Pawar noted. The hospital is also grappling with staff shortages, 783 vacancies at Sassoon and 314 at BJ Government Medical College. 'This has led to a heavy workload on the current staff,' Pawar said. 'To expedite hiring, we have appointed an external agency to conduct exams and provide a direct merit list for recruitment.' The review concluded with directives to speed up ongoing projects and ensure patient convenience, reaffirming the government's commitment to upgrading Sassoon as a modern and inclusive healthcare hub.
Time of India
21 hours ago
- Time of India
Mumbai senior citizen doctor kept under ‘digital detention' for 8 days by cyber fraudsters, loses Rs 3 crore
Mumbai: In a fresh digital detention fraud case, a 70-year-old practising doctor from the western suburbs was cheated of Rs 3 crore by cyber frauds who claimed that her bank account was used in the multi-crore money laundering case related to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal. The fake police officers kept her under 'digital detention' for eight days. One of the calls from a 'crime branch officer' lasted for 14 hours, said cyber police. In her complaint, the doctor said that on May 28, she received a call from one Amit Kumar, who claimed to be from the telecom department. He told her that someone had taken a new SIM using her Aadhaar card and an FIR was registered against the SIM card holder. Later, she received a WhatsApp message from the 'Cyber Crime Department Mumbai' asking about her personal details. She messaged her name and address to this number. She then received a WhatsApp call from the same number, and the caller introduced himself as IPS officer Samadhan Pawar from the Mumbai crime branch. He alleged that during searches at Goyal's residence they had found a bank account and debit card in her name. She denied her involvement, but Pawar threatened her, saying even if Re 1 was sent to her account from proceeds of crime, she would be jailed for three years. After she provided details of her bank accounts and the money in them, Pawar sent her fake documents purportedly from the Bombay high court, Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation, and Reserve Bank of India with her name on them. Some documents even had forged letterheads of these departments. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Later, a man in police uniform, who identified himself as Tyagi, spoke to her and her husband during the video call. He told the doctor that he was putting her under surveillance and she would have to report to them every hour. Pawar kept threatening to arrest her and told her to transfer her money into separate accounts for 'scrutiny' with the assurance that it would be returned. Scared, she followed the instructions and transferred nearly Rs 3 crore. Later, her husband mentioned the incident to a relative, who told him that it was a fraud. This is when she lodged a complaint at West Region Cyber police station on June 5. A team led by senior police inspector Suvarna Shinde is probing the case.
New Indian Express
a day ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Mahayuti rift over Hindi as third language as Ajit Pawar opposes BJP Shiv Sena support
MUMBAI: The differences surfaced in Mahayuti alliance partners over introducing Hindi as a third language in primary schools in Maharashtra. Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar taking a different stand against his own Mahayuti government, Mr Pawar said that there is no need to introduce Hindi from primary school. He said the school education department should focus on teaching Marathi as the first language from standard – I, while Hindi should be introduced from class V only. 'In the tender age, we should not put an additional burden on the students with Hindi as a third language to learn. Students should learn reading and writing in Marathi from class – I in school, while Hindi should be taught from class V,' Ajit Pawar said. On the other hand, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde have different stands and are in favour of teaching Hindi from class – I in schools in the state.
