Union Minister Nitin Gadkari meets NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar

Mumbai: In a significant development amid developments within the NCP and NCP (SP), BJP stalwart and Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari met veteran politician Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Monday on the sidelines of a conference on the cooperative sector.

“It was a courtesy visit,” Pawar said, posting photos of the meeting held at the Yashwantrao Chavan Centre at Nariman Point in Mumbai ahead of the seminar on 'Empowerment of Cooperatives and Government Policy’.

During Gadkari’s meeting with Pawar, among others present were NCP (SP) Working President and Baramati MP Supriya Sule, state NCP (SP) President Jayant Patil, Chairman of the administrative board of Maharashtra State Cooperative Society (MSC Bank) Vidyadhar Anaskar and party leader Yugendra Pawar were present.

The day-long seminar was attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were present.

At the function, Fadnavis said that a committee will be formed to recommend changes to the Cooperative Societies Act, and a panel will be set up to strengthen the functioning of cooperative institutions.

“We will set up a committee to recommend changes in the existing Cooperative Societies Act, and another committee will be formed to study and give recommendations to the state government on how to strengthen existing cooperative societies,” he said, adding that nearly 50 per cent of the cooperative societies in the state were cooperative housing societies, and the state government has introduced changes and improvements in regulations governing them.