Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar hails Amit Shah; says he has encouraged cooperative sector

Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the first time shared the stage with Ajit Pawar, who led a rebellion in the Nationalist Congress Party, to join the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra.

Pune (Maharashtra): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) Ajit Pawar on Sunday lauded Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, saying the latter is the 'son-in-law of Maharashtra' and he loves the state more than Gujarat.

"Shah has encouraged the cooperative sector. Works worth Rs 80,000 crore are going in the state. Due to the tax exemption, the sugar mills have got relief. The country is progressing under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah," Ajit Pawar, who orchestrated a coup in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founded by his uncle Sharad Pawar, at a programme in neighbouring Pimpri-Chinchwad.

The Union Home Minister, who represents the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, launched the web portal of the Central Registrar's Office. The programme was attended by Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and Maharashtra DCM Devendra Fadnavis.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also said Ajit Pawar was sitting on a stage (alongside him) for the first time. "Ajit Pawar has come to the right place belatedly. Maharashtra is a cradle of cooperation. The CRCS program will now be completely digitised. The Cooperative sector cannot move forward without transparency and modernity. Maharashtra should take more advantage of the cooperative sector. It is important to involve the youth in the cooperative sector movement," Shah said.

Devendra Fadnavis, on his part, said that the portal has been launched to reach every village. "Maharashtra has shown that prosperity can come from cooperation. Amit Shah is a strong Home Minister. Maharashtra is the birthplace of Amit Shah. He was born in Mumbai. Shah did what many could not do for many years. Amit Shah tried to clear the arrears of sugar mills. He has tried to support the cooperative movement," Fadnavis said while recollecting that Shah had started a sugar factory in Maharashtra.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said Amit Shah is trying to empower the rural economy. "Shah has taken revolutionary decisions in the cooperative sector. Due to Amit Shah, the abuse in the cooperative sector has stopped. By deciding to waive the tax of lakhs of factories, he has helped the sugar industry a lot. Under the leadership of Modi, Shah has shown courage and abrogated Article 370," added Shinde.

Shah arrived in Pune on Saturday night to attend the launch function from Odisha, where he attended several official programmes.