Latest news with #PrakashDeshpande
Indian Express
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Need people who hold govt accountable: Nitin Gadkari
Stating that individuals taking government to courts bring 'discipline into politics', Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari pointed out that what a court verdict can achieve, a minister sometimes cannot, especially in the dynamics of popular politics. Gadkari was addressing the audience at the late Prakash Deshpande Smruti Kushal Sanghatak Puraskar held in Nagpur on Sunday. Talking about a recipient of the award, Gadkari said, 'Ravi Fadnavis and I were never on the same page politically. He challenged the education department time and again, took them to court, overturned decisions. And I say this sincerely, we need people like him. People who hold governments accountable. Court cases and verdicts often bring about changes that ministers cannot.' Gadkari also spoke about the media's role in public infrastructure. He remembered how protests against projects like the Mumbai–Pune Expressway and the Bandra–Worli Sea Link gained traction. 'Medha Patkar's campaign drew national attention. The English media criticised us too. I took some of them to the site, and we saw how the sea face near Worli had practically become a gutter. That changed minds.' He credited Prakash Deshpande once again for helping bridge the divide between government and media. 'Even Kumar Ketkar, who was often critical of us, met Prakash and changed his perspective. He realised these flyovers could actually transform Mumbai's traffic.' The awards were given as 'kushal sanghatak' to Balawant Bhoyar and Ravindra Fadnavis by Vidarbha Gaurav Pratishthan in Nagpur.
NDTV
14-07-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Society Needs People Who File Petitions Against Government: Nitin Gadkari
Nagpur: Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has stressed the need for filing court cases against the government to ensure discipline in public administration. A court order can get work done in a way that even the government can't, said the senior BJP leader while speaking at the Late Prakash Deshpande Smriti Kushal Sangathak Puraskar ceremony in Nagpur. "There should be some people in the society who file petitions against the government in the court. This disciplines the politicians. (This is) because even ministers in the government cannot do the work that a court order can do. Popular politics comes in the way of politicians and ministers," he said. Mr Gadkari pointed out that those honoured as 'Kushal Sangathak', at the event, fought many such legal battles against the government. The 'Kushal Sangathaks' filed many court cases against "wrong" government decisions in the education sector and even forced the government to withdraw their decisions on many instances, said the BJP leader known for revolutionising road networks in the country.
