India, Aug. 31 -- Senior NCP (SP) leader Eknath Khadse on Sunday celebrated his 75th birthday in Muktainagar in Jalgaon district with a grand gathering, featuring top political leaders from across party lines. But chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, with whom Khadse has had long-standing political differences and whom he had invited for his birthday, skipped the event, prompting the veteran leader to take a swipe at the "changing political culture".

"Today, I feel pain when I compare the politics of the present with the politics of the past," Khadse, who spent most of his political career in the BJP before shifting to the Sharad Pawar-led NCP in 2020, told the gathering.

"Despite being in the Opposition, leaders from the ruling parties al...