"They Never Understood My Googly": Sharad Pawar On Nephew's 2019 Oath With BJP

Sharad Pawar had recently said that the hurried swearing-in of Devendra Fadnavis in 2019 was a "googly" bowled by him to expose BJP's lust for power.

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday slammed the Eknath Shinde government, which completed one year in power on June 30, for its "incapability" to maintain law and order in Maharashtra.

Mr Shinde became chief minister on June 30 last year after a successful rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray split the Shiv Sena and brought down the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, of which Mr Pawar's NCP was a part along with the Congress.

Queried about the first anniversary of the Ekanth Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government, Mr Pawar said, "There is a serious question of law and order in the state. Attacks on women, gangs with koytas (sharp edged weapon) are serious issues. The state government is incapable of maintaining law and order."

The opposition has been attacking the Shinde government over communal flare-ups in several places over posters of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and 18th century Mysore rule Tipu Sultan, as well as crimes against women, including some in which the accused used 'koytas' (type of machete) to hack the victims to death.