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Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Indian Express
With uncle Ajit Pawar on stage, Rohit Pawar of NCP (SP) says DyCM is a ‘fast bowler known for delivering yorkers'
Rohit Pawar, a Maharashtra MLA from the Opposition NCP (SP) led by Sharad Pawar, described Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who is also his uncle, on Saturday as a 'fast bowler known for delivering yorkers'. At the same time, he described Jayant Patil, a leader of his party, as a spinner who bowls offspins, leg spins, and googlies. 'If I employ cricket language, then I would say Ajitdada is a fast bowler who is known for delivering yorkers. Ajitdada's speed is such that batters to some extent get scared of his bowling,' the MLA said at the inauguration of the N D Patil Auditorium in Sangli. Ajit Pawar, Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, and NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil were among those present at the event. Turning to Chandrakant Patil, Rohit said, 'He sometimes bats, sometimes resorts to bowling.' Speaking about Jayant Patil, the MLA said, 'He sometimes bowls offspins, leg spins, and even googlies. At times, he has bowl in the hand but does not bowl.' Rohit said that Ajit Pawar had pulled him up after he spoke in the Assembly a few years before. 'Ajit Pawar called me up…I thought he would praise me. But he said, 'I want to tell you something important'. He told me to button my shirt properly while delivering the speech. It means he pays minute attention towards me. He thinks more about politics and has forgotten the family.' Responding to Rohit's remarks, Ajit Pawar said, 'He should remember that I gave enough time to the family and that is why he could become an MLA. He should introspect how many votes he secured. He barely scraped through because of postal votes. Therefore, they should do their work, I will do mine.' On the occasion, Rohit Pawar announced Rs 40 lakh for the N D Patil Auditorium and urged both Ajit Pawar and Chandrakant Patil to pledge financial assistance. However, Ajit Pawar told Rohit to 'slow down' and not to 'indulge in theatrics'.
Economic Times
6 hours ago
- Economic Times
We toppled Vasantdada govt in 1978, but he proposed my name for CM 10 yrs later: Sharad Pawar
Synopsis Sharad Pawar revealed he orchestrated the 1978 toppling of Vasantdada Patil's Maharashtra government, highlighting the Congress party's internal divisions post-Emergency. A decade later, Patil surprisingly proposed Pawar for the chief minister's role, showcasing the Congress's "large-hearted leadership" at the time, prioritizing party unity despite past conflicts. Pawar emphasized this act as an example of ideological commitment over personal grievances. ANI NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar has said he led the move the topple the Maharashtra government headed by Vasantdada Patil in 1978, but the same leader proposed his name for the chief minister's post a decade was the kind of "large-hearted leadership" the Congress had at the time, Pawar, who had a long stint in the opposition party, said at an event here on Saturday. Pawar snapped ties with the Congress in 1999 and co-founded the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). In July 2023, the NCP split after Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar joined the then Shiv Sena-BJP coalition government. The 84-year-old Rajya Sabha member, who served as Maharashtra's CM multiple times, recalled that after Emergency, the grand old party split into the Congress (Indira) and Swarn Singh Congress. Pawar said he remained in the Swarn Singh Congress with his mentor Yashwantrao Chavan at the time, but neither side had a clear majority in the elections that subsequently took place. "Eventually, we came together and made Vasantdada the chief minister. However, many of us young workers had a resentment against Congress (I), since we were aligned with Chavan saheb. So there was a gap. Dada tried to bridge it, but we opposed it," the former Union minister said."I was among the key opponents. As a result, we decided to bring down the government and we did. I became the chief minister," he recalled."Why am I saying this? Because ten years later, we were all united again," Pawar pointed a meeting was called to decide the next CM, many names were discussed - Ramrao Adik, Shivajirao Nilangekar, he added."But dada said 'no more have to rebuild the party. Sharad will lead it'," Pawar said. "Imagine the same leader whose government I brought down, he put all that aside and chose unity for ideology. That was the kind of large-hearted leadership we had in the Congress," the former CM said.
News18
6 hours ago
- News18
Mistrust, fear: Complex story behind strained Syria-Lebanon relations
Beirut, Aug 17 (AP) A lot has happened in just a year on both sides of the Lebanon-Syria border. A lightning offensive by Islamist insurgents in Syria toppled longtime autocrat Bashar Assad and brought a new government in place in Damascus. In Lebanon, a bruising war with Israel dealt a serious blow to Hezbollah — the Iran-backed and Assad-allied Shiite Lebanese militant group that had until recently been a powerful force in the Middle East — and a US-negotiated deal has brought a fragile ceasefire. Still, even after the fall of the 54-year Assad family rule, relations between Beirut and Damascus remain tense — as they have been for decades past, with Syria long failing to treat its smaller neighbour as a sovereign nation. Recent skirmishes along the border have killed and wounded several people, both fighters and civilians, including a four-year-old Lebanese girl. Beirut and Damascus have somewhat coordinated on border security, but attempts to reset political relations have been slow. Despite visits to Syria by two heads of Lebanon's government, no Syrian official has visited Lebanon. Here is what's behind the complicated relations. A coldness that goes way back Many Syrians have resented Hezbollah for wading into Syria's civil war in defence of Assad's government. Assad's fall sent them home, but many Lebanese now fear cross-border attacks by Syria's Islamic militants. There are new restrictions on Lebanese entering Syria, and Lebanon has maintained tough restrictions on Syrians entering Lebanon. The Lebanese also fear that Damascus could try to bring Lebanon under a new Syrian tutelage. Syrians have long seen Lebanon as a staging ground for anti-Syria activities, including hosting opposition figures before Hafez Assad — Bashar Assad's father — ascended to power in a bloodless 1970 coup. In 1976, Assad senior sent his troops to Lebanon, allegedly to bring peace as Lebanon was hurtling into a civil war that lasted until 1990. Once that ended, Syrian forces — much like a colonial power — remained in Lebanon for another 15 years. A signature of the Assad family rule, Syria's dreaded security agents disappeared and tortured dissidents to keep the country under their control. They did the same in Lebanon. 'Syrians feel that Lebanon is the main gateway for conspiracies against them," says Lebanese political analyst Ali Hamadeh. Turbulent times It took until 2008 for the two countries to agree to open diplomatic missions, marking Syria's first official recognition of Lebanon as an independent state since it gained independence from France in 1943. The move came after the 2005 truck-bombing assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri that many blamed on Damascus. Two months later, Syria pulled its troops out of Lebanon under international pressure, ending 29 years of near-complete domination of its neighbour. When Syria's own civil war erupted in 2011, hundreds of thousands of Syrians fled across the border, making crisis-hit Lebanon the host of the highest per capita population of refugees in the world. Once in Lebanon, the refugees complained about discrimination, including curfews for Syrian citizens in some areas. Hezbollah, meanwhile, rushed thousands of its fighters into Syria in 2013 to shore up Assad, worried that its supply lines from Iran could dry up. And as much as the Lebanese are divided over their country's internal politics, Syria's war divided them further into those supporting Assad's government and those opposing it. Distrust and deadlock A key obstacle to warming relations has been the fate of about 2,000 Syrians in Lebanese prisons, including some 800 held over attacks and shootings, many without trial. Damascus is asking Beirut to hand them over to continue their prison terms in Syria, but Lebanese judicial officials say Beirut won't release any attackers and that each must be studied and resolved separately. In July, family members of the detainees rallied along a border crossing, demanding their relatives be freed. The protest came amid reports that Syrian troops could deploy foreign fighters in Lebanon, which Damascus officials denied. Another obstacle is Lebanon's demand that Syrian refugees go back home now that Assad is gone. About 716,000 Syrian refugees are registered with the UN refugee agency, while hundreds of thousands more are unregistered in Lebanon, which has a population of about 5 million. Syria is also demanding the return of billions of dollars worth of deposits of Syrians trapped in Lebanese banks since Lebanon's historic financial meltdown in 2019. The worst post-Assad border skirmishes came in mid-March, when Syrian authorities said Hezbollah members crossed the border and kidnapped and killed three Syrian soldiers. The Lebanese government and army said the clash was between smugglers and that Hezbollah wasn't involved. Days later, Lebanese and Syrian defence ministers flew to Saudi Arabia and signed an agreement on border demarcation and boosting their coordination. In July, rumours spread in Lebanon, claiming the northern city of Tripoli would be given to Syria in return for Syria giving up the Golan Heights to Israel. And though officials dismissed the rumours, they illustrate the level of distrust between the neighbors. Beirut was also angered by Syria's appointment this year of a Lebanese army officer — Abdullah Shehadeh, who defected in 2014 from Lebanon to join Syrian insurgents — as the head of security in Syria's central province of Homs that borders northeastern Lebanon. In Syria, few were aware of Shehadeh's real name — he was simply known by his nom de guerre, Abu Youssef the Lebanese. Syrian security officials confirmed the appointment. What's ahead Analysts say an important step would be for the two neighbours to work jointly to boost security against cross-border smuggling. A US-backed plan that was recently adopted by the Lebanese government calls for moving toward full demarcation of the border. Radwan Ziadeh, a senior fellow at the Arab Center in Washington, says the best way forward would be for Syria and Lebanon to address each problem between them individually — not as a package deal. top videos View all That way, tensions would be reduced gradually, he said and downplayed recent comments by prominent Syrian anti-Assad figures who claimed Lebanon is part of Syria and should return to it. 'These are individual voices that do not represent the Syrian state," Zaideh said. (AP) GRS GRS (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: August 17, 2025, 11:45 IST News agency-feeds Mistrust, fear: Complex story behind strained Syria-Lebanon relations Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
