A day after the state cabinet took a decision to recommend 12 names for their nomination to the state council from the governor’s quota, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, on Friday evening, met Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at his official residence Varsha. The meeting went on for an hour.
Sources told the Free Press Journal, “The 12 names, comprising four each from Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, were discussed. The government will forward them on Monday to Governor BS Koshyari for his approval. They also discussed strategies if the governor sits on the names or raises objections with regard to the criteria for the selection of nominees. Further, the fate of labour and agriculture laws also came up for discussion. The state government has already hinted that it will not implement them in the present format and take all stakeholders on board.” The state government last week had announced a Rs 10,000 crore package for the flood-hit districts of Maharashtra. However, the central government is yet to send its team to evaluate the damage and later recommend assistance. This was also deliberated at length.
Sources said the ruling parties’ chief also discussed the present financial condition of the state, especially when the central government is dilly dallying over clearing its dues worth Rs 38,000 crore.
Today’s meeting comes days after Thackeray exhorted the party’s district unit presidents to prepare for Shiv Sena forming the next government on its own. Pawar had taunted that he has been listening to such statements for the Shiv Sena for the last 30 years, reminding Thackeray that he is currently heading a Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
Meanwhile, a day after his meeting with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, on Friday, called upon NCP chief Sharad Pawar to discuss issues related to the inflated electricity bills and lower milk prices in the state. The governor had told him to speak to Pawar. The NCP chief confirmed that he received a call from Thackeray, but so far no meeting has been finalised.
The MNS chief has submitted representation to the governor on the inflated electricity bills received by consumers during the lockdown and brought to his notice that there has been no action so far from the state government to provide relief to the consumers.
Further, he also raised the problems faced by farmers engaged in milk production, especially pertaining to lower prices. Thereafter, Koshyari had suggested the MNS chief to meet Pawar for further action. Koshyari’s move comes after Pawar had made fun of his coffee table book in a letter.
