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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

HC orders fresh elections in three months

Dr. Rumi F. Beramji Mumbai: In a jolt, the Bombay High Court has directed the state government to hold elections to the Maharashtra Council of Acupuncture (MCA) - which is managed by an Administrator for past three years – within three months, here on Friday. A division bench of the Bombay High Court (Aurangabad Bench) comprising Justice Ajit Kadethankar and Justice Vibha Kankanwadi were disposing off a petition filed a senior medical practitioner, Dr. Laxman Bhimrao Sawant through his...

HC orders fresh elections in three months

Dr. Rumi F. Beramji Mumbai : In a jolt, the Bombay High Court has directed the state government to hold elections to the Maharashtra Council of Acupuncture (MCA) - which is managed by an Administrator for past three years – within three months, here on Friday.   A division bench of the Bombay High Court (Aurangabad Bench) comprising Justice Ajit Kadethankar and Justice Vibha Kankanwadi were disposing off a petition filed a senior medical practitioner, Dr. Laxman Bhimrao Sawant through his lawyer Sharad V. Natu, seeking different reliefs.   These included alleged serious irregularities in the functioning of the MCA and challenging the continuation of the Administrator for a prolonged period pending the elections. The matter was highlighted in detail by  ‘ The Perfect Voice’   on April 21.   Strong Observations In its order uploaded today, Justice Kadethankar and Justice Kankanwadi noted the petitioner’s contentions that the Administrator, Dr. Rumi F. Beramji was appointed for only one year, and that period is over.   “It should be the endeavour of the State to implement the various provisions of the Act, that is, the Maharashtra Acupuncture System of Therapy Act, 2015. Holding of elections and formation of the council as per Section 3 of the said Act should be adhered to by the State Government and it cannot be then postponed in infinity,” said the court.   Accordingly, Justice Kadethankar and Justice Kankanwadi directed the state government, through the Medical Education & Drugs Department (MEDD) to conduct the MCA elections within a period of three months.   Prolonged Tenure Among other things, the petitioner had termed the appointment and prolonged tenure of former MCA Chairman Dr. Rumi F. Beramji as “illegal and arbitrary,” and detrimental to the cause of Acupuncture.   Elected as the inaugural head (May 2018-May 2023) of the five-member statutory body, Dr. Beramji, was subsequently appointed its Administrator after the MCA’s term expired.   Adv. Natu pointed out that the Administrator’s appointment was intended to be a stop-gap arrangement for one year to facilitate the polls, but it was subsequently ‘extended’. However, nearly three years later, Dr. Beramji continued without fresh elections being conducted, raising questions over adherence to statutory norms and principles of governance.   Directionless Members Dr. Sawant further contended that while Dr. Beramji was installed as Administrator, the remaining members of the council were effectively superseded, leaving the regulatory body without its mandated collective structure, and over 6500-members directionless.   He argued that the excuse cited for delay in conducting elections was ostensibly an incomplete voter list, but this reason was flimsy considering the extended time lapse.   The petition, which was heard and disposed of on April 22, also levelled serious allegations against the style of functioning of the MCA Administrator, decisions were taken unilaterally, whimsically and without transparency or institutional accountability.   Selective Targeting It also made accusations of ‘selective targeting’ of certain prominent members who attempted to raise valid issues, including the globally-renowned noted acupuncture expert Dr. P. B. Lohiya of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.   Other members raised doubts over approvals granted to more than a dozen acupuncture colleges and some two dozen Continuous Acupuncture Education (CAE) centres in undue haste, purportedly in violation of prescribed norms and alleged shady deals. Many of these institutions, it was claimed, either exist only on paper or lack essential infrastructure, faculty and facilities.   The petitioner called for a comprehensive review of the Administrator’s tenure, a financial audit of the MCA's affairs, and an independent probe by the MEDD into the approvals granted to the institutions in recent years.   Dr. Sawant had sought quashing Dr. Beramji’s appointment as MCA Administrator and setting aside all policy decisions taken during his tenure in the last three years, and ordering the government to hold elections to the body.

The Shadow of His Grandpa

Updated: Nov 18, 2024

Rohit Pawar

Rohit Pawar is wedging a tough contest from Karjat-Jamkhed assembly constituency. Actually, he had won this constituency comfortably in 2019 and hence it shouldn’t have been such a tough contest for him. But many things have changed in past five years making it a big difficult for him to repeat his performance. However, still he is roaming around crisscrossing the state along with his grand uncle to campaign for other candidate fielded by the party. He wants to grow in politics like his grand uncle. He is Rohit Pawar.


Born on September 29, 1985, in Baramati Rohit Pawar contested his first election from a zilla parishad constituency near Baramati in 2017. It was at that age of 32 that the grandson of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) chief Sharad Pawar’s elder brother Appasaheb and a member of the formidable family’s fourth generation ventured into the political arena of the state. Rohit is married to Kunti, an economist, and they have two children, Anandita and Shivansh. He completed his schooling at Vidya Prathisthan, Baramati, and graduated with a Bachelor of Management Studies from the University of Mumbai in 2007.


The late Appasaheb is highly respected in Maharashtra for his contributions to the development of the farm sector. Rohit’s father, Rajendra, is also respected for work performed through the Baramati Krishi Vikas Pratishthan. Rohit, a highly educated man, is the CEO of Baramati Agro Ltd., a position he assumed at the young age of 21. Under his leadership, the company has made significant contributions to the agricultural sector, including distributing 170 water tankers daily to drought-affected areas in Maharashtra. He also served as the President of the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) from 2018 to 2019.


Sources say that fielding him from the Shirsufal-Gunwadi constituency in the Pune zilla parishad elections was a conscious decision on the part of the Pawar family and his entry into politics was a low-profile event. He was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in 2019. As a young MLA he established the Karjat-Jamkhed Integrated Development Foundation (KJIDF) to tackle local development challenges and improve the quality of life for residents. Additionally, he founded the Srujan Foundation, which organizes various events and competitions to engage and empower the youth.


Since the rebellion within the party by his uncle Ajit Pawar, Rohit has become the shadow of his octogenarian grand uncle Sharad Pawar. He has been taking on Ajit Pawar along with CM Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and even the BJP. He has even seen the flip side of such aggression, when he got a summon from the ED for some irregularities at Baramati Agro Ltd.


In recent years, Rohit Pawar has been involved in various campaigns and initiatives to promote development and empower the youth. His efforts have helped raise the profile of the Karjat-Jamkhed constituency on the socio-political map of Maharashtra. As he continues to grow in his political career, Rohit Pawar is considered a potential contender for leadership roles within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

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