New Delhi: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday to discuss farmers’ crisis in Maharashtra amid political logjam to form a government in the state.
The two leaders met in Parliament in the afternoon.
“NCP chief Sharad Pawar will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi today in Parliament, over the issue of Maharashtra farmers. We will demand some relief for the farmers, from the Prime Minister,” NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Heavy rains in Maharashtra have resulted in huge losses for farmers in Nashik and in its nearby areas.
On November 15, Pawar had taken stock of crop losses in the region due to unseasonal rains and said that he would speak to the Centre and concerned ministers for appropriate assistance to farmers.
Pawar had also met government officials in the district and asked them to conduct surveys of the destroyed crops.
The meeting also comes days after PM Modi praised the NCP in the Rajya Sabha at the beginning of the Winter Session for strictly “adhering to Parliamentary norms”.
PM Modi said: “Today I want to appreciate two parties, NCP and BJD. These parties have strictly adhered to parliamentary norms." He said the other parties, including his own, should learn from them.
"They have never gone into the Well. Yet, they have raised their points very effectively,” Modi added.
Meanwhile, the NCP and the Congress leaders are expected to discuss a myriad of issues — from the name of their likely alliance if they join hands with the ideologically opposite Shiv Sena to the contours of their tie-up in the coming polls in their meeting scheduled for Wednesday, an NCP leader said on Tuesday.
The Congress and the NCP are not comfortable with the name 'Maha Shiv Aghadi' (a grand alliance comprising the Sena), the leader said.
"We don't want name of any party in the alliance. Even in the NDA and the UPA, alliances don't have names of parties," the leader added.
The Congress-NCP alliance is known as 'Aghadi' (front) and the Shiv Sena-BJP-RPI and other smaller parties are known by the term 'Mahayuti' (the grand alliance).
The NCP and Congress will meet in the evening to discuss to alliance with the Shiv Sena, a long-term BJP ally that recently ended its alliance with the ruling party over a power tussle.
Catch the latest news, live coverage and in-depth analyses from India and World. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
