Ajit Pawar rues Marathi-speaking areas of Karnataka still not part of Maharashtra
Mumbai, May 1 (PTI): Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said even 65 years after the formation of Maharashtra, there is one regret - that Belgaum and Karwar, parts of adjoining Karnataka, were still not merged with the western Marathi-speaking state.
Speaking at a party event organised on the occasion of Maharashtra Day, Pawar, who heads the ruling NCP, asserted his outfit will not abandon the ideology of legendary social reformers Shahu Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and B R Ambedkar.
Recalling the work of chief ministers of Maharashtra from the first CM Yashwantrao Chavan to the incumbent Devendra Fadnavis, Pawar said each one of them have contributed to development of the state since its formation in 1960.
"Maharashtra was formed out of struggle. Even if Maharashtra has completed 65 years of its existence, here is one regret in our hearts. Even today, the Marathi manoos (Marathi-speaking people) of Belgaum and Karwar are still not with us. The case is going on in the Supreme Court.
"The day they are merged with Maharashtra, we can confidently said Maharashtra is now complete," he said.
Maharashtra has been demanding that Marathi-speaking areas in Karnataka -- Belgaum, Karwar, Nipani -- be merged with the state, a stand strongly opposed by the southern state.
Pawar noted India's population in 1947 was 35 crore, but it has now multiplied four times to 140 crore. The population of the state has also increased accordingly, he said.
He emphasised that those in power now and in the past have been working to address the water woes of Maharashtra, but with a growing population, the sources have become limited.
The deputy CM said some people oppose the bullet train project in India, but China and Japan have progressed because of such high-speed transport modes.
The erstwhile Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government (November 2019-June 2022) had stopped the bullet train project connecting Mumbai to Ahmedabad which is currently under construction.
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India has agreed already to drop its tariffs to nothing: President Trump
New York/Washington, May 7 (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said India has “agreed” to drop its high tariffs “to nothing”.
“I mean, India as an example, has one of the highest tariffs in the world. We’re not going to put up with that, and they’ve agreed already to drop it. They’ll drop it to nothing. They’ve already agreed. They would have never done that for anybody else but me,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump and visiting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke to reporters as they met in the Oval Office to discuss the US-Canada trade.
“So we’re going to put down some numbers and we’re going to say our country is open for business and they’re going to come in and they’re going to pay for the privilege of being able to shop in the United States of America. It’s very simple. It’s very simple,” he added.
In the past, Trump has called India “tariff king” and a “big abuser”.
Last month, Trump had said that negotiations with India over a bilateral trade deal are “coming along great” and he thinks “we’ll have a deal with India”.
