Ajit Pawar will be appointed as Maharashtra CM around August 10, claims Prithviraj Chavan
Mumbai, Jul 24: Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Monday claimed NCP stalwart Ajit Pawar will be appointed as the chief minister of Maharashtra around August 10 replacing the incumbent Eknath Shinde of Shiv Sena.
He claimed a decision on the disqualification of CM Shinde and 15 other MLAs of Shiv Sena will be taken around August 10.
"After deciding the disqualification of Shinde and other MLAs, incumbent Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar would be appointed as the chief minister around August 10," the former chief minister told a regional news channel.
Chavan also claimed that the BJP is not keen on contesting the next Lok Sabha elections under Shinde "as he wields no influence outside his home district of Thane".
"The BJP now has an alternative in Ajit Pawar," he added.
Chavan alleged that "use and throw" is the work style of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"This is the fate of Shinde. The understanding of top BJP leadership indicates they want to make Ajit Pawar the chief minister and face elections," he added.
Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs of the Nationalist Congress Party joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government on July 2. While Ajit Pawar took oath as the deputy chief minister, the MLAs were sworn in as ministers. Later, the crucial finance department was allotted to the nephew of Sharad Pawar.
Shinde had said Ajit Pawar's entry into the government posed no threat to him.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
We need to create system in which people's skills get their due: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi Friday called for creating a system in which people's skills get their due and everyone's contribution is respected, as he shared a Diwali video in which he interacts with paint job workers and potters.
Posting the over nine-minute video which features him also having a conversation with his nephew Raihan Rajiv Vadra on YouTube, the former Congress chief said, "A memorable Diwali with special people - I celebrated this Diwali working with some painter brothers and making earthen diyas with a potter family."
"I saw their work closely, tried to learn their skills and understood their difficulties and problems. They don't go home. We celebrate festivals happily and to earn some money, they forget their village, city, family," Gandhi said.
"They make happiness from clay. While lighting up the festivals of others, are they able to live in light themselves? Those who build houses can hardly run their own houses!" he said.
Gandhi said Diwali means light that can remove the darkness of poverty and helplessness.
"We have to create such a system -- in which people's skills get their due and contribution is respected -- makes everyone's Diwali a happy one. I hope this Diwali brings prosperity, progress and love in the lives of all of you," he said.
In the video, Gandhi is seen working with labourers at the 10 Janpath residence and learning to paint walls along with his nephew. In the second part of the video, Gandhi goes to the house of a woman who makes earthen lamps with her five daughters.
Gandhi tries his hand at pottery and makes 'diyas', which he says he would give to his mother and sister.
Since his Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra and his Manipur to Mumbai Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi has been interacting with a cross-section of people from mechanics and cobblers to labourers and bus drivers.
He often posts videos of his numerous interactions and highlights the plight of various sections of society.
