On Saturday, Sharad Pawar, the leader of the National Congress Party (NCP), met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the latter’s house for a roughly hour-long discussion on national problems. This was also the NCP’s first one-on-one meeting with PM Modi since the beginning of the year.
The meeting between Sharad Pawar and PM Modi is noteworthy because it comes amid rumblings inside Maharashtra’s Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) administration, which is made up of the Shiv Sena, the NCP, and the Congress.
Sharad Pawar stated after the meeting with PM Modi that the two did not talk politics.
Sharad Pawar has already written to Prime Minister Modi, urging him to safeguard cooperative banks and their cooperative ethos. Sharad Pawar told PM Modi on Saturday that he had requested time to discuss the letter concerning cooperative banks that is currently being reviewed by the Reserve Bank of India.
Sharad Pawar informed PM Modi that the Banking Regulation Rules, which were approved by Parliament in September 2020, are infringing on the state’s rights because cooperative banks are regulated by the state government.
The Centre has established a new Ministry of Cooperation, which is led by Union Minister Amit Shah.
Before the all-party meeting on Sunday, Sharad Pawar stated he addressed the Covid-19 issue in India with Prime Minister Modi. He will also be present at the conference.
Sharad Pawar has had back-to-back meetings with Union ministers in the last few days. First, Piyush Goyal, the newly-appointed Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, paid a call to Pawar at his house in Delhi ahead of the Parliament’s Monsoon Session. On Friday, Pawar met with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.
Pawar, a senior politician known for his political savvy, is the architect of Maharashtra’s ruling MVA coalition and is viewed as a lynchpin for any potential opposition alliance against the BJP.
The 80-year-old veteran leader is also known for his warm relations with politicians across party affiliations.
