PUNE, Feb. 5 -- Ahead of his meeting with Sunetra Pawar on Wednesday, at a press meet in Baramati, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar added grist to the continuing saga of the possible tie-up between the two NCP factions, as he said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had no authority to comment on internal discussions related to the merger, asserting that he was not a part of any such talks. Pawar said as discussions were strictly limited to leaders of the two NCP groups, "I do not understand what right he has to mention my name. He was nowhere in the merger talks." Pawar's statement was a response to Fadnavis questioning the credibility of the reunification efforts, and that if such talks were underway, Ajit Pawar would have informed him. Pawar clarified that NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil and NCP chief Ajit Pawar were key participants in the discussions. He however said, no political negotiations were on at the moment. "Right now, the focus is on standing together and supporting those who are grieving," he said. He also expressed happiness about the Sunetra taking oath as deputy chief minister. Pawar then criticised the BJP-led government for not allowing Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to speak in Parliament on issues linked to a book written by former army chief general Manoj Mukund Naravane. "The matter raised by Rahul Gandhi was serious and related to national security. If a former army chief has written about certain incidents, Parliament should have discussed it openly," he said. Pawar also said he was unable to attend Parliament on Budget Day this year for the first time in his long political career due to a family emergency. "In the last 58 years, I have always been present in either the Assembly or Parliament on Budget Day. This is the first time I could not attend," he said, adding that there were expectations that the Union Budget would announce concrete measures to accelerate development, but it could pose challenges for the common man. Equally, the recent India-US trade agreement, he said, could have adverse impact on Indian farmers. He pointed out that while tariffs on Indian goods in the US had reportedly been reduced to 18%, "its large-scale export of agricultural products will directly impact local farmers. Such a situation should not arise in the country's agricultural sector."...