Cong, Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) to jointly contest Maharashtra polls: Pawar
Pune (PTI): NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said his party, Congress, and the Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray will jointly contest the Maharashtra assembly polls, due in October this year.
Addressing a news conference here, Pawar also said it is the moral responsibility of the major opposition parties in Maharashtra to protect in the state assembly polls the interests of smaller allies, which were part of the coalition in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The NCP (SP), Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) are constituents of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which was in power in the state from November 2019 till June 2022 before the collapse of the Thackeray-led government.
Pawar said the opposition will keep a collective face before the people of Maharashtra.
There is need for a change in the state and it is the moral responsibility of the opposition coalition to discharge it, Pawar said.
"As Arjuna's target (in the epic Mahabharata) was an eye (of a fish), our eyes are all set on the elections in Maharashtra. The Congress, NCP (SP) and Uddhav Thackeray's Sena (UBT) will jointly contest the Vidhan Sabha polls," he said.
The former Maharashtra chief minister said talks on seat-sharing in the state have not begun, but will commence soon.
The people gave a good response to the NCP (SP), Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he noted.
"But like these three parties, the Left parties, Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) were also a part of the coalition but we could not give them seats in the Lok Sabha. It is our moral responsibility to protect the interests of these parties," he said.
"So the efforts will be to go ahead with them (in the state assembly polls)," Pawar added.
Asked about the state budget presented on Friday by the Eknath Shinde government, the NCP (SP) chief said, "What happens if you go with an empty pocket in a market? It's a matter of a few days, reality will be seen soon."
A monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 to women in the 21 to 60 age group, three free LPG cylinders a year for households, farmer-friendly steps and a stipend of Rs 10,000 per month to youths for skill training were highlights of the Maharashtra government's budget for 2024-25 presented on Friday, four months ahead of the state polls.
Asked if he will participate in the Wari (pilgrimage) 'palkhi' procession which began here on Friday, Pawar said, "The palkhi travels to Pandharpur from my village in Baramati (in Pune district). I will welcome the Wari procession in Baramati."
The 'palkhis' (palanquins) carrying the footprints of revered saints Tukaram and Dnyaneshwar Maharaj set out from Pune's Dehu and Alandi, respectively, to Pandharpur in Solapur district over the last two days.
They will reach Lord Vitthal's temple in Pandharpur on the occasion of Ashadhi Ekadashi on July 17.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday said the state government will send a proposal to United Nations agency UNESCO for world heritage nomination for the annual Pandharpur 'wari' which has a tradition of 1,000 years.
He said the government will also set up a separate corporation to provide facilities to devotees of Lord Vitthal (called warkaris), who undertake the annual pilgrimage from Alandi and Dehu in Pune district to the Vitthal-Rukmini temple in Pandharpur.
The Deputy CM also said the government has decided to provide a sum of Rs 20,000 per 'dindi' (group of devotees) of the pilgrimage from this year. An allocation of Rs 36.71 crore has been made for this in the budget.
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Trump returns from China; terms meeting with Xi as 'G-2'
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump returned from a visit to China, describing his discussions with President Xi Jinping as a meeting of leaders of "two great countries".
Trump landed at the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on the outskirts of the US capital on Friday evening, claiming to have struck important trade deals, including one for China's purchase of 200 aircraft from Boeing, with a promise for another 750, as well as agreements benefiting the American agriculture sector.
The US President reached here after a brief refuelling stop at Anchorage in Alaska.
“It’s the two great countries. I call it the G-2. This is the G-2. I think it’ll go down as a very important moment in history,” Trump told Fox News in an interview after meeting Xi on Thursday.
The Washington Post reported that Trump’s remarks put China on an equal footing with the US, exactly what Xi had aimed to achieve with the visit.
“Over two days of meetings here, the carefully choreographed pageantry and the reciprocal gestures of friendship and respect between the world’s two most powerful men displayed a geopolitical dynamic that the Chinese have long craved and Americans had resisted," the Post said.
Trump told Fox News that the relationship with Xi was important and suggested that China may not resort to any aggressive moves over Taiwan, at least till he is in office.
“It’s not a takeover. They just don’t want to see this place — we’ll call it a place because nobody knows how to define it — but they don’t want to see it go independent,” Trump said.
“I don’t think they’ll do anything when I’m here. When I’m not here. I think they might, to be honest with you,” Trump said.
"I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down," he said.
"We're not looking to have wars, and if you kept it the way it is, I think China's going to be OK with that," he added.
The US President said he had invited Xi for a visit to Washington in September.
“Xi has done something Chinese leaders have been working toward for decades — bringing an American president to Beijing as an undisputed peer,” said Julian Gewirtz, who served as China director on the National Security Council under President Joe Biden.
“Xi used the opulent optics of the visit to make clear to the world that China and the United States are the two dominant, equally matched superpowers. There is no going back.”
Trump’s friendly statements toward Xi and the Chinese people were being amplified in China’s state-controlled media, sending the message that “we’re getting along better with the Americans,” John Delury, a senior Fellow at the Asia Society, was quoted as saying by The New York Times.
It was understandable that Trump wanted to be polite to Xi, but that the American president’s gushing approach “weakens Trump and the US”, R. Nicholas Burns, the ambassador to China during the Biden administration, was quoted as saying in The New York Times.
“Xi did not hesitate to warn Trump over Taiwan. Trump should not hesitate to be frank about our concerns, too,” he said.
Trump and Xi are expected to meet at least three times this year.
The US President has invited Xi to the White House in September.
Trump may travel to Shenzhen in China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in November. And Xi could come to the G-20 summit in December in Miami.
“This is a summit again that was heavier on symbolism than it was on substance — focus on managing problems, not on solving the problems that exist between the US and China,” said Rush Doshi, former National Security Council deputy senior director for China and Taiwan in the Biden administration.
“The way that both leaders talked about the future indicates that this is going to be part of a process that will play out this year,” said Kurt Campbell, former deputy secretary of State in the Biden administration.
