Tag: NCP

Indian politics is setting new records.

By Justice Katju
” Jeevan ka safar hai toolaani
Yaan ikraani hai naadaani
Jo Shahsawaar maahir hain
Woh raah badalte rehte hain ”.
( Life’s journey is long
Staying at the same place is foolishness
The expert horseriders

Keep changing their routes )
On 27th June this year Prime Minister Modi accused Sharad Pawar’s NCP as being involved in various scams of Rs 70,000 crores e.g. Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank scam, Irrigation scam, illegal mining scam, etc

Yet just 5 days later on 2nd July a section of the NCP, led by Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar, joined the BJP which is in power in Maharashtra. These defectors were promptly rewarded, Ajit Pawar being made a Deputy CM, and others being made Ministers.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india-today-insight/story/what-ajit-pawars-defection-brings-for-prime-players-in-maharashtra-politics-2400918-2023-07-02

It is interesting to note that corruption charges had been levied against many of these defectors by the Enforcement Directorate of India, but these tainted defectors have now become Ministers ! Their cases will now obviously be put into the cold storage.
Defection is nothing new in Indian politics. In 1967 Chaudhury Charan Singh defected 3 times in 3 days. In 1980 Bhajan Lal defected to Congress with almost all his MLAs. The list of ‘Aya Rams Gaya Rams’ in India is very long.
https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/states/story/19800215-bhajan-lal-35-janata-mlas-join-congressi-806443-2014-02-10
But this latest defection takes the cake. In 5 days the defectors have been transformed from heavily corruption tainted figures ( as described by the Prime Minister ) to snow white clean saints.
Indian politics reminds me of the Mad Hatter’s tea party in Alice in Wonderland !

July 3, 2023
Sharad Pawar has failed to create successor who can take NCP forward: Shiv Sena (UBT)

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Mumbai: Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) on Monday claimed Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has failed to create a successor who could take his party forward.
An editorial in Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece Saamana also claimed the jumbo committee set up to decide on the new president of NCP after Pawar announced his decision to step down included some members who were keen to go with the ruling BJP. But these members were compelled to ask Pawar to continue due to pressure from NCP cadres, it said.
Notably, the Thackeray-led faction is one of the three constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) along with the NCP and Congress.

“Sharad Pawar is like an old banyan tree in politics who had left the Congress party, founded NCP, and expanded it. Pawar is indeed an important figure in national politics and his words command respect. However, he has failed to create a successor who could take his party forward,” the editorial said.
This was reflected when Pawar announced his resignation as NCP chief, which left many (leaders) shattered to their core, it said.
“Pawar has a fair idea of people around him and their intentions. Pawar had said he would not stop those (leaders) who want to leave NCP. It (the announcement of resignation and its withdrawal which galvanised party cadres) means those who wanted to defect have temporarily suspended their plans,” the Shiv Sena (UBT) said.
The Saamana claimed the pressure mounted by NCP cadres compelled the jumbo committee set up to decide on the new president of NCP to ask Pawar to continue in the position.
Sharad Pawar last Friday decided to rescind his decision to resign as NCP chief, heeding to pleas of party leaders and cadres, three days after he announced his decision to step down.

The editorial has evoked a stinging reaction from NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal who rebuked Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, the executive editor of Saamana, which is published in Marathi and Hindi languages.
“Uddhav Thackeray has already clarified what Sharad Pawar has written in his autobiography ‘Lok Majhe Sangati’. Thackeray had said he didn’t want to create any problems in Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Why is Sanjay Raut doing this? What is his problem? Does he think that the NCP shall leave the MVA? Sharad Pawar Saheb has done politics for years equal to your age,” Bhujbal said in Nashik.
He said there are capable leaders like Ajit Pawar, Supriya Sule and Jayant Patil in the MVA who can ably handle whatever responsibilities assigned to them.
The editorial also took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP.
“The BJP is calling Pawar’s resignation a political farce. But it should look at its own leader Narendra Modi who is world famous for farcical behaviour. The BJP is the only party that doesn’t wish anything good to happen in other political parties,” it said.
The current BJP is formed by breaking and wrecking other political parties in the country, it alleged.
“Pawar returning to head the NCP has not only re-energised that party, but several Opposition parties in the country also felt relieved. Those who are getting ready to join the BJP should first answer the question of whether they want to live for 100 days like a lamb or one day like a tiger,” the editorial asked.
The Saamana further said people will end the political careers of those leaders who will defect and join the BJP.
“No matter how big a lieutenant is, joining BJP is like inviting trouble,” it said.
Without taking names, the editorial claimed the leaders who had ditched Shiv Sena are facing a worse situation than that of a dog living on a pile of garbage.
“There is not an iota of morality left in the BJP. People can join the BJP under the threat of ED or CBI but the sword will continue to hang on their heads for the rest of their life,” it said.
The Pawar saga also means that leaders do not represent a political party, but its workers do, it said.
“When hoards of party workers gathered outside Pawar’s residence and the party office, it gave a clear message. After Eknath Shinde’s rebellion, Shiv Sena witnessed the same thing. MLAs and MPs left Shiv Sena but party workers are still with the original Sena,” the Saamana said.
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#Sharad #Pawar #failed #create #successor #NCP #Shiv #Sena #UBT
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 8, 2023
NCP rejects Sharad Pawar’s resignation, urges him to stay on as President

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Mumbai: The NCP on Friday unanimously rejected the resignation of the party’s national President Sharad Pawar and requested him to continue in his post.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the special panel set up by Pawar to name his successor after his dramatic announcement on Tuesday to step down.
The panel’s decision on the two resolutions — rejecting the resignation and urging him to continue as party chief — will be conveyed to Pawar for his final call in the matter.

Top NCP leaders like Praful Patel and Ajit Pawar will make the official announcement on the developments later this afternoon.
Meanwhile, an emotional NCP activist attempted to commit suicide outside the party office but was prevented by thousands of other workers and the police.
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#NCP #rejects #Sharad #Pawars #resignation #urges #stay #President

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 5, 2023
Key NCP committee to meet today to take a call on Sharad Pawar’s successor

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Mumbai: A committee of the Nationalist Congress Party will meet at 11 am today to decide on who will head the NCP next, days after party chief Sharad Pawar announced that he would be stepping down from the top position.
The committee was set up by 82-year-old Pawar to pick his successor and it includes Ajit Pawar, Supriya Sule, former Union leader Parful Patel and Bhujbal.
Pawar on Thursday said his decision to step down from the post was taken for the future of the party and to create a new leadership amid continued demand from party workers that he reconsiders his decision.

NCP leaders, on condition of anonymity, said Baramati Lok Sabha MP and Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule is likely to be the party’s national chief while Ajit Pawar will take charge of the Maharashtra unit.
As per party leaders, the mantle of NCP chief is likely to remain within the Pawar family as giving the reins to someone from outside may lead to rifts and power tussles in the outfit formed in 1999.
These leaders asserted Sule, a three-term LS MP, had established herself as an effective parliamentarian and has contacts with leaders of parties across the political spectrum, whereas Ajit Pawar has a good hold over the state unit and is widely acknowledged as an able administrator.
Moreover, these leaders added that Ajit Pawar had recently spoken about his chief ministerial dreams, while Sule has always said national politics interests her.
Incidentally, senior NCP leader and former state minister Chhagan Bhujbal had said Sule should take up the party’s national mantle and Ajit Pawar must head the state unit, though the MLA from Yeola in Nashik was quick to add that this was his personal opinion.

Speaking outside the Y B Chavan Centre in the city, where his supporters have been camping to demand his continuation as the party chief, Pawar said on Thursday he would take a final decision in the next couple of days and the sentiments of party workers will not be ignored.
“I respect your sentiments. I should have discussed my plans with all of you and taken you into confidence. But I know you wouldn’t have allowed me to take the decision (of stepping down as party chief),” the former Union minister told his supporters.
He said some party colleagues from outside Maharashtra will meet him on Friday to discuss the issue. “I will take a final decision in one or two days,” Pawar said.
As emotions ran high among his supporters, Pawar tried to pacify them outside the YB Chavan Centre.
The party cadres gathered at the place urged Pawar to appoint a working president of the party, while he himself should continue in the post.
Some of them said Pawar should helm the party at least till 2024 as the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are due, while others said if he did not reconsider his decision, they would resort to a hunger strike.
Pawar on Tuesday sprang a surprise by announcing his decision to quit as president of the party he founded and headed since 1999 when he left the Congress to chart his own political course.
The announcement, made at an event, stumped leaders and workers of the 24-year-old party.
Pawar, a Rajya Sabha MP and one of the stalwarts of the Opposition, had said he was stepping down as NCP chief but was not retiring from public life.
The announcement came amid speculation that Ajit Pawar and some MLAs may join hands with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, though the former deputy chief minister has refuted such talk by claiming he will be with the NCP till he is alive.
According to party sources, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin of the DMK spoke to Sule over phone to enquire about developments in the NCP following Tuesday’s announcement.
While Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Congress have maintained the developments in the NCP will not affect the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which comprises the three parties, political observers said a lot would depend on what Ajit Pawar does after the Supreme Court verdict, likely in a couple of days, on petitions related to the toppling of the Thackeray government in June last year.
These observers also added Ajit Pawar was unlikely to switch sides as developments since Tuesday have shown the NCP was firmly with Sharad Pawar and the former was unlikely to get the numbers to effectively split the party.
Speaking on the future of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, Maharashtra Congress vice president Ratnakar Mahajan said the current situation was “complex and unpredictable”.
“But, all the three constituents of the MVA would stay together in the light of results of recent polls,” Mahajan said.
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#Key #NCP #committee #meet #today #call #Sharad #Pawars #successor
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 5, 2023
NCP imbroglio won’t derail MVA, asserts Uddhav Thackeray

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Mumbai: In his first reaction to the ongoing crisis rocking the Nationalist Congress Party since three days, Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray said that it will not affect the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), three-party alliance comprising even the Congress.
“I don’t think it will have any impact on the MVA… Even from my side we shall not do anything that could create cracks in the alliance,” declared Thackeray while interacting briefly with the mediapersons.
When asked whether he had spoken to NCP President Sharad Pawar to reconsider his move to step down as party chief, Thackeray shot back in lighter vein: “Who am I to advise Sharad Pawara? What if he doesn’t heed my advice…”

The ex-CM pointed out that Pawar Saheb has the right to take his decisions and each worker of his party (NCP) has the right to convey their reaction to their leadership, and “let’s wait for the NCP committee meeting of tomorrow.”
On his planned Saturday visit to the protest-hit Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd project coming up with Arab help at a cost of Rs 3 lakh-crore, Thackeray said that he is going to meet the people of Barsu and surrounding villagers who are opposing the plant.
“I am not going there to see the strength of the Shiv Sena (UBT) or the Bharatiya Janata Party, but to meet and interact with the local population, hear out their problems or grievances. Unless all their apprehensions are cleared, the project should not be pushed through,” reiterated Thackeray.
To a query on Pawar’s adverse comments in his autobiography, ‘Lok Majhe Sangati’, Thackeray guardedly said that he had nothing to say as “my work as CM is before the whole world and the people of the state who are like a family.”
Nevertheless, Sena (UBT) Chief Spokesperson and MP Sanjay Raut has stated that he would reply to Pawar’s observations on Thackeray through the ‘Saamana Group’ soon.

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#NCP #imbroglio #wont #derail #MVA #asserts #Uddhav #Thackeray
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 4, 2023
Sharad Pawar hasn’t relented; no talks yet on new NCP chief: Praful Patel

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Mumbai: Senior NCP leader Praful Patel on Wednesday said there was no question of picking Sharad Pawar’s successor as party chief until there was a final decision on his announcement to quit the post.
Pawar has not relented despite repeated appeals from Nationalist Congress Party leaders and supporters that he withdraw his decision to step down, Patel told reporters here.
“Pawar yesterday said there should be a generational change. May be he wanted a new generation to step forward. None of us knew about it beforehand. He has asked for some time and we should grant him that,” Patel said.

NCP MLA from Thane Jitendra Awhad said he had resigned as the party’s national general secretary following Pawar’s announcement that he was stepping down as the party supremo.
Earlier in the day, there was also speculation about Pawar’s daugher Supriya Sule emerging as the choice for national president and his nephew Ajit Pawar as Maharashtra unit chief.
Some reports also suggested that Praful Patel, who is the NCP’s national vice president, could be the new party chief, but he ruled out the possibility.
The party committee, which Pawar himself set up on Tuesday to decide on his successor, did not meet on Wednesday, he said.
He also denied that Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil was upset with the party and he was not invited to the meeting of top leaders in Mumbai.

When asked by reporters in Pune, Patil said he had a word with Supriya Sule who said there was no such meeting.
“If the situation arises, the committee will decide on Pawar’s successor and the decision will be unanimous,” Praful Patel said in Mumbai.
“He sought time to think over his decision after the party asked him to reconsider it, and till the final decision is arrived at, there is no question of deliberating on his successor,” he said.
“There is no vacancy,” he said, adding, “whether Pawar remains president or not, he is the party’s identity and soul.” The party was trying to persuade Pawar to reconsider his decision, Patel said, adding that workers should have patience and stop resigning from their posts en masse in protest against Pawar’s decision.
The `Vajramooth’ rallies of the Maha Vikas Aghadi — the alliance of the NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) — were postponed due to the hot summer conditions and it was decided on Sunday when a rally was held in Mumbai, Patel said.
“It has nothing to do with Pawar stepping down as NCP chief,” he said.
Awhad, a former state cabinet minister, said he and all office-bearers of Thane NCP have resigned after Pawar’s announcement.
Jayant Patil told reporters in Pune that he was among several people who had joined the NCP after being inspired by “Pawar saheb’s” leadership.
Asked if he would work under Supriya Sule, Patil said whatever decision the party takes, everyone has to accept it.
To a question if he felt sidelined in the party, Patil, a former state cabinet minister, said, “This is a big question. I don’t think there is any need to answer it today.” Pawar (82) on Tuesday dropped a bombshell by saying he is stepping down as chief of the NCP which he founded and helmed since 1999.
The announcement, made at an event, stumped leaders and workers of the 24-year-old party. Many party workers were seen crying and pleading that Pawar should revoke his decision.
Later in the day, Ajit Pawar announced that his uncle will need two to three days to “think over” his decision.
On Wednesday, Sharad Pawar stuck to his daily routine of meeting people including party functionaries.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole hit out at ally Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, saying he should stop “interfering in other parties’ affairs”.
On Tuesday, Raut had said decisions in the Congress are ultimately taken by Rahul Gandhi though Mallikarjun Kharge occupies the post of the grand old party’s president.
“Sanjay Raut is not a spokesperson of Congress. How can he raise question marks over the capability of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge? It is wrong to level false allegations against the Gandhi family,” he said.
“I would suggest that he (Raut) should not interfere in our party’s affairs,” Patole added.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 3, 2023
Pune NCP workers, functionaries break down, urge Pawar to withdraw resignation

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Pune: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) workers and functionaries in Pune on Tuesday evening urged party president Sharad Pawar to immediately withdraw his resignation from the top post as they broke down on coming to know about his sudden announcement.
They said they will resign en masse if Pawar (82), whose hometown Baramati is located in Pune district in western Maharashtra, does not take back his resignation which was announced in Mumbai in the afternoon.
Pradeep Deshmukh, Pune NCP spokesperson, said after the news of Pawar’s resignation trickled in, hundreds of workers gathered at the party office in the city and could not stop their tears.

He said the NCP is like a family, where Pawar is a father figure and such leaders do not retire.
“If Pawar saheb does not reverse his decision, party workers and office-bearers will remain firm on their resignation,” Deshmukh said.
Meanwhile, Vitthal Maniyar, an aide of Pawar, said the former Union minister’s move to step down as president of the party he founded in 1999 was not abrupt or sudden.
“Pawar saheb might have thought deeply before coming to this decision. He must be thinking of handing over the responsibility to the next team and making them ready while he is still active,” he said.
“Though Pawar saheb has sought time (to rethink his resignation), I am sure it was a well though out decision and he will convince party leaders to accept it,” Maniyar stated.

“Saheb has not given up politics or social work. Whether he is party chief or not, he will continue to work with the same gusto with which he was working till now,” he said.
Asked about Pawar’s possible successor if he stays firm on his decision to quit the top party post, Maniyar said the veteran politician believes in democratic functioning of the party and any decision on the issue will be taken unanimously.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 3, 2023
NCP wants Anurag Thakur, Irani to step in to resolve issues raised by wrestlers

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New Delhi: Sharad Pawar’s NCP said on Sunday that Union ministers Anurag Thakur and Smriti Irani should step in to address the concerns raised by top wrestlers protesting here against former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brijbhushan Sharan Singh.
“(Youth Affairs And Sports Minister) Anurag Thakur and Smriti Irani must intervene immediately and ask the Delhi Police, which works under the Union home ministry, to take immediate action. If they cannot do this for people who have won laurels for our country, then what can common citizens expect?” NCP spokesperson Clyde Crasto asked.
India’s top wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat, returned to the protest site Jantar Mantar on Sunday and demanded that the government make public the findings of an oversight panel that investigated sexual harassment allegations against Singh.

The six-member oversight panel, headed by legendary boxer MS Mary Kom, had submitted its report in the first week of April but the government has not yet made it public.
“Why is Woman and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani avoiding this issue. Would she have not raised it if it had happened in Amethi or Wayanad,” the NCP spokesperson asked.
Crasto said it was sad to see the kind of treatment meted out to the country’s wrestlers.
“The BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and their ministers bask in the glory of our sportspersons when they win laurels, but now the same are betraying them in their hour of need,” the NCP spokesperson said.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 23, 2023
Karnataka polls: NCP fields nine candidates, including ex-BJP MLC

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New Delhi: The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Friday said it has fielded nine candidates in the upcoming Karnataka assembly elections, where the BJP, Congress and the JD(S) are locked in a triangular contest.
The NCP has fielded Uttam Patil from Nippani assembly segment in Belgavi district, a region with dominant Marathi-speaking population, where it had actively participated in the agitation against the desecration of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
It has fielded Masoor Saheb Bilagi from Devar Hippargi, Zameer Ahmad Inamdar (Baswan Bagewadi), Kulappa Chavan (Nagthan), R Hari (Yelburga), R Shankar (Ranebennur), K Suguna (Hagaribommanahalli), SYM Masood Foujdar (Virajpet) and Rehana Bano (Narsimharaja).

Hari is the President of the NCP’s Karnataka unit and Shankar a BJP MLC who quit the party after being denied ticket to contest the May 10 elections.
Elected as the lone MLA of Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party (KPJP) from Ranebennur constituency in 2018, Shankar later joined the Congress.
However, he withdrew his support to Congress-JD(S) coalition government led by then Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, when a few MLAs from both parties resigned. He was then disqualified considering the fact that he was a Congress member. Shankar joined the BJP and was elected to the Legislative Council.
Shankar quit the BJP and as MLC after being denied the party ticket to contest the May 10 assembly elections.
NCP’s decision to field candidates in Karnataka is seen as an attempt to regain the national party status it had to forego due to its depleted political fortunes in states such as Goa, Meghalaya and Manipur.

The party’s entry into the electoral fray in Karnataka came at a time NCP supremo Sharad Pawar is leading efforts to forge opposition unity for the Lok Sabha elections next year.
The Congress is expecting a big victory in the Karnataka Assembly polls as it yearns for a reversal of its sliding electoral performance since the loss in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The NCP also announced its list of star campaigners Sharad Pawar, Praful Patel, Supriya Sule, P P Mohammad Faizal, Fouzia Khan, Clyde Crasto, among others.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 21, 2023
Maulana Azad’s erasure from NCERT books due to his Muslim identity: NCP

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Mumbai: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Thursday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to ‘erase’ the name of India’s first Education Minister and Bharat Ratna, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, from history because he was a Muslim.
NCP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said that the BJP-led government at the Centre is using the NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) to wipe out Maulana Azad’s identity and his glorious contributions from India’s education system.
Citing instances, he said a para in the first chapter of the old Class XI NCERT political science textbook said: “The Constituent Assembly had eight major Committees on different subjects. Usually, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad or Ambedkar chaired these Committees.”

“However, in the new version of the same textbook by NCERT, the name of Maulana Azad has been omitted and the same sentence now reads: ‘Usually, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel or B.R. Ambedkar chaired these committees’. This is truly unfortunate,” Crasto said.
Suspecting a systematic conspiracy to delete Maulana Azad from history, the NCP leader pointed out how last year the Minority Affairs Ministry had abruptly discontinued the ‘Maulana Azad Fellowship’, which was started in 2009 (by the former UPA government) to provide financial help to students from six notified minorities for a period of five years.
The NCERT comes under the Government of India which is currently led by the BJP, and therefore the question that comes to the mind is whether they are seeking to obliterate the name of India’s first Education Minister because of his religion, Crasto said.
“There appears no other reason why they would do this to the first Education Minister of Independent India and one of our leading freedom fighters. The NCERT must clarify and answer to the citizens why Maulana Azad’s name is missing in the new version of the textbook, and how it will rectify this error,” Crasto said.
Maulana Azad, a distinguished Islamic scholar, author, academician and a prominent freedom fighter, was elected as the youngest President of Indian National Congress aged 35, and later led the historic Khilafat Movement.

After Independence, Maulana Azad served as India’s first Education Minister for over 10 years, during which he laid the foundations for the country’s massive academic network. Acknowledging his contributions, his birthday – November 11 – is celebrated as National Education Day.
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#Maulana #Azads #erasure #NCERT #books #due #Muslim #identity #NCP
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 13, 2023