Sharad Pawar is an experienced leader whose contribution can't be ignored, says Maha CM Shinde

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday praised Nationalist Congress Party NCP supremo Sharad Pawar saying his contribution to the cooperative sector cannot be ignoredShinde was speaking at the 46th annual general meeting of the Vasantdada Sugar Institute VSI in Pune where Pawar shared the dais with him Pawar is the chairman of the VSIAlso readShiv Sena symbol Hope EC takes decision as per law and rules says CM ShindePawar is an experienced leader at the state and national level His contribution to the cooperative sector is huge and cannot be ignored the chief minister saidIn the interest of the people and welfare of the state Pawar is always available for guidance and suggestions to whoever is in power he saidHe often calls me over the telephone to make suggestions and give advice Shinde saidNotably Shinde and his supporting MLAs had rebelled against Shiv Sena leadership and questioned party chief Uddhav Thackerays decision of joining hands with the NCP and Congress to form a government in the state The Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA dispensation headed by Thackeray collapsed following the rebellion and Shinde became the chief minister on June 30 last yearCM Shinde said the cooperative sector has played an important role in the countrys development and realising its importance the Centre has set up a separate ministry for the sectorThe central government has assured full support to the cooperative sector in Maharashtra he saidShinde also lauded the cooperative sector for following its social responsibility even during the time of crisis and not just focusing on profit or lossThe chief minister said his government was committed to protecting the interests of the cooperative sector A total of 25 lakh hectares will be brought under irrigation in the next few years he saidSpeaking on the occasion Pawar said the need of the hour is to focus on the production of products other than sugar to strengthen sugar factories and make them economically strongAdditional sugar should be used for ethanol production he feltTalking to reporters on the sidelines of the event Shinde said the state government will provide good infrastructure and subsidies to investors seeking to set up industries in the stateInvestors in Davos expressed interest in India and Maharashtra and are confident that we are investorfriendly as there is a lot of scope for Investment he saidShinde also said that he would answer critics through his workSpeaking about Pawar he said when the NCP chief was a union agriculture minister he introduced several reforms in the sector and his contribution in the cooperative sector is immenseI spoke what is true he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever