Latest news with #SharadchandraPawar
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Dodke halts verification of EVMs as VVPAT slips not included
Pune: The checking and verification of EVMs and VVPAT slips came to a halt on Friday after Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar faction) candidate from Khadakwasla assembly constituency, Sachin Dodke, objected to the process. Election officials carry EVMs from a distribution centre in Amritsar. AFP Dodke, who contested and lost the assembly election from Khadakwasla against BJP's Bhimrao Tapkir, had approached the district collector's office seeking verification of EVMs (electronic voting machines) and VVPAT (voter verifiable paper audit trail) slips. He had also deposited the requisite fee as mandated by the Election Commission of India. As per procedure announced earlier, the verification process began on Friday. However, Dodke raised objections, claiming the process was not being carried out as per norms. 'We had demanded counting of votes in both EVMs and VVPAT slips. But the officials refused to do so. I have submitted my objections in writing. If the poll body does not carry out VVPAT counting, I will move court,' said Dodke. Responding to the allegation, election officer Yashwant Mane said, 'We initiated the checking and verification of EVMs in Dodke's presence as per his application. Two EVMs were taken up and the process was carried out in accordance with Election Commission guidelines.'
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Outstanding agri loans cross Rs 28 lakh crore, Centre says no waiver plan
The Centre has informed that agricultural loans worth over ₹28.5 lakh crore are outstanding — but ruled out any plans for a waiver. Responding to Parliamentary questions by Lok Sabha MPs Supriya Sule (Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar, Maharashtra), Hanuman Beniwal (Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, Rajasthan) and others, the Ministry of Finance informed Monday that outstanding agricultural loans stood at Rs 28,50,779.43 crore as of March 31, 2025. These are due from 1,762.96 lakh accounts. 'No proposal to waive off the outstanding agricultural loans, is under consideration with Union Government,' the government said. However, it added that several measures have been taken 'to provide relief and to improve the economic conditions of the farmers which inter-alia includes timely and adequate credit through Kisan Credit Card (KCC) under which crop loan up to Rs 3 lakh is provided at subsidized interest rates under the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS) with additional incentives for timely repayment, fixation of progressively increased agricultural credit target, issuance of revised Priority Sector Lending guidelines to ensure improved credit flow to the agricultural sector etc.' The top five states in terms of outstanding agricultural loans are Tamil Nadu: Rs 4,03,367 crore; Andhra Pradesh: Rs 3,08,716 crore; Maharashtra: Rs 2,60,799 crore; Uttar Pradesh: Rs 2,28,560 crore; Karnataka: Rs 2,22,301 crore. Other states with dues in excess of Rs 1 lakh crore are Rajasthan: Rs 1,87,322 crore; Madhya Pradesh: Rs 1,62,385 crore; Kerala: Rs 1,52,198 crore; Telangana: Rs 1,44,346 crore; Gujarat: Rs 1,44,330 crore; Punjab: Rs 1,04,353 crore. Apart from Sule and Beniwal, the questions were put up by NCP-SP MPs from Maharashtra: Bhaskar Murlidhar Bhagare, Nilesh Dnyandev Lanke, Mohite Patil Dhairyasheel Rajsinh, Dr Amol Ramsing Kolhe, and Bajrang Manohar Sonwane, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackrey) MP from Maharashtra Sanjay Dina Patil, and Congress MP, Prof Varsha Eknath Gaikwad, also from Maharashtra. The MPs had also asked 'whether there is any correlation found between outstanding agricultural loans and incidence of farmer suicides in states like Maharashtra and if so, the data available with the Government on such cases during the last five years.' The government said that the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) publication 'Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India' is available till the year 2022 but that it does not specify separate reasons for farmer suicides. The MPs had also asked 'whether any specific categories of farmers marginal, small, tenant, SC/ST are more burdened with outstanding loans and if so, the details thereof' to which the government said that 'NABARD All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey (NAFIS) for the period of 2021-2022 indicates a generally positive relationship between landholding size and household indebtedness, with the proportion of indebted households increasing as land size increases, up to 1 hectare. Beyond this threshold, a marginal decline in the incidence of indebtedness is observed among households with larger landholdings.' Beniwal said, 'The BJP government, which falsely claims to protect farmers' interests, has once again refused in the Lok Sabha to waive the outstanding agricultural loans of farmers in Rajasthan and other states across the country.' 'The continuous increase in farmers' loans exposes the falsehood of all those claims by the government about the upliftment and welfare of farmers. The details of outstanding agricultural loans in different states of the country reveal a grim situation. Today, the government is saying that it is trying to provide relief to farmers by issuing KCC. Is merely providing loans equivalent to giving relief to farmers?' he said, asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 'to formulate a scheme to completely waive the agricultural loans of farmers in Rajasthan and across the country to strengthen the economic condition of the nation's farmers.' Sule and some other Maha Vikas Aghadi MPs also met Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday where they apprised him of various issues and also complained about Maharashtra Agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate, recently caught playing rummy in the Assembly, over his 'anti-farmer' stance and demanded his resignation and appointment of a 'sensitive Agriculture Minister who understands the issues of farmers.'
News18
21-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
Pune district election officer orders recount of votes in Hadapsar assembly seat
Pune, Jul 21 (PTI) The Pune district election officer has ordered a recount of votes polled in the Hadapsar assembly constituency in the November 2024 Maharashtra elections, months after one of the losing candidates alleged irregularities in the counting process. The recounting of votes will take place at Bhosari from July 25 to August 2, said the district election officer in a release on Monday without providing further details. In November 2024, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) candidate from Hadapsar in Pune district, Prashant Jagtap, had demanded a recount of votes in electronic voting machines and voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) paper slips in the constituency after raising objections over the counting process and alleging manipulation of EVMs. In Hadapsar, the main contest was between the rival factions of the NCP and Jagtap narrowly lost the election by 7,122 votes. Chetan Tupe of the ruling NCP was declared elected from the seat with 1,34,810 votes, while rival NCP (SP)'s Jagtap received 1,27,688 votes. Objections were raised by losing candidates in several assembly constituencies in the state over the counting process after the assembly elections and Hadapsar was one of them. The Election Commission granted permission for a recount of 27 EVMs and VVPAT machines from the Hadapsar assembly constituency. However, the instructions given for this recount were to erase the actual voting data from the machines and conduct a mock poll for the recount. Jagtap, along with others, challenged this decision of the EC in the Supreme Court. The Pune district collector, who acted as election officer during the polls, has now ordered a recount of votes in Hadapsar. Meanwhile, Jagtap expressed confidence the 'vote tampering" that occurred in the Hadapsar constituency eight months ago will be exposed after recounting. PTI COR SPK RSY view comments First Published: July 21, 2025, 23:15 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
NDTV
18-07-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Messages Being Conveyed Through Punches, Kicks: D Fadnavis On Assembly Clash
Mumbai: Expressing concern over the clash between supporters of an NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) MLA and a BJP MLA on the Maharashtra Assembly premises on Thursday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that, instead of discussions, messages are being conveyed through punches and kicks. Speaking in the Assembly on Friday, Mr Fadnavis said, "Messages should reach the public through thoughts and discussions but, unfortunately, messages are now being conveyed through kicks and punches." The chief minister also said some of the people involved in the clash in the lobby of the Assembly between supporters of NCP(SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad and BJP MLA Gopichand Padalkar had several criminal cases against them. The security arrangement at the legislature, he stressed, will be made stricter and the entry of people would be regulated. Mr Fadnavis said his government is working towards a comprehensive and progressive Maharashtra and that many schemes changing the face of Mumbai are being implemented. "No one can ever separate Mumbai from Maharashtra, not in thousands of years to come," he said, adding that the voice of the Marathi 'manoos' (people) will also remain loud in Mumbai. The chief minister also made some announcements about local trains in Mumbai and the Dharavi redevelopment project. "Considering accidents in Mumbai local trains, new AC local trains with fully closed doors will be introduced. There will be no increase in fares, and the Union railway minister will announce a decision soon," he said. Mr Fadnavis also assured the residents of Dharavi that no one will be displaced. "Eligible residents will get new homes in Dharavi itself in the next 7 years, and business owners will get commercial units in the area. Ineligible residents will be given homes in other parts of Mumbai," he said.
Scroll.in
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Mumbai Press Club demands action against MLA from Sharad Pawar's NCP for assaulting journalist
The Mumbai Press Club on Friday urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to take strict action against Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MLA Jitendra Awhad for assaulting a journalist. Earlier in the day, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Nitesh Rane posted a video on X in which Awhad could be seen slapping a journalist who was recording his conversation with Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Ambadas Danve. It is unclear when the video was shot. In its statement issued on Friday, the Mumbai Press Club described Awhad's actions as 'shameful'. It said that such behaviour by an elected representative is 'unacceptable and raises concerns about the safety and security' of journalists covering the Assembly session. 'The Assembly premises are a democratic space where journalists have the right to report freely without fear or intimidation,' stated the press body. 'An assault like this not only violates the freedom of the press but also sends out a dangerous message to the entire journalist community.' It demanded that 'concrete measures be put in place to ensure the safety of all journalists who are covering the proceedings of the House'. 'No elected leader has the right to raise a hand on a journalist,' stated the Mumbai Press Club. 'We stand firmly with our colleague and reiterate that attacks on the press will not be tolerated.' Awhad booked after clash inside Assembly Meanwhile, a case was registered against Awhad for allegedly obstructing the work of the police during a protest against the detention of one of his supporters, reported ANI. This came a day after a scuffle broke out between workers of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and the Bharatiya Janata Party inside the Assembly premises. 'Yesterday, after a fight between BJP and NCP workers at Vidhan Bhavan, Jitendra Awhad and his workers obstructed the work by sitting in front of the police vehicle in the evening,' stated the police. Awhad had launched a sit-in protest around 2 am after the police detained his supporter Nitin Deshmukh, who was involved in the scuffle with supporters of BJP MLA Gopichand Padalkar. Awhad alleged that the police were acting in a biased manner by arresting only his aide while Padalkar's supporters were being treated leniently, The New Indian Express reported. The MLA reportedly physically blocked the police vehicle and had to be forcibly removed by security personnel. Speaker bans entry of visitors Against this backdrop, the Maharashtra speaker on Friday imposed a blanket ban on visitors to the state Assembly during the Monsoon Session, The Indian Express reported. 'The conduct of Nitin Deshmukh and Sarjerao Takle [Padalkar's guest] has brought disrepute to the legislature,' the newspaper quoted Narwekar as saying. 'I am handing over the matter to the Privileges Committee and directing that a police complaint be lodged.' Narwekar also said that an ethics committee empowered to disqualify members will be formed within a week to ensure proper conduct of the legislators. Citing security concerns and the need to maintain legislative decorum, he also directed ministers not to hold meetings within the Assembly complex. All briefings and official interactions must take place at the state secretariat, the newspaper quoted Narwekar as saying.
