The absence of NCP-SP leaders from a key Maha Vikas Aghadi meeting in Maharashtra has ignited concerns about opposition unity ahead of the crucial budget session and upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
Maharashtra's political leaders, led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, paid tribute to the late Deputy CM Ajit Pawar during the state legislature's budget session, remembering him as a capable leader and administrator.
The Opposition in Maharashtra boycotted the government's customary tea party on the eve of the Winter session, citing its failure to appoint leaders of the opposition (LoPs) in both houses of the state legislature.
'This will split the Marathi and Shiv Sena vote.' 'The BJP has conducted 3 surveys indicating they shall secure 109 seats in the BMC.' 'They do not wish for the Shinde Sena to demonstrate excessive strength in the BMC.' 'If the Thackerays secure 60-70 seats, that will affect Shinde's seats.'
Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik on Saturday ordered the suspension of the state transport buses to Karnataka after an Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus was attacked.
Fadnavis on Thursday asserted that Marathi is the language of Mumbai and Maharashtra and anyone who lives here should learn and speak it, after a Shiv Sena-UBT MLA pointed to comments of a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday asserted that Marathi is the language of Mumbai and Maharashtra and anyone who lives here should learn and speak it. Fadnavis was speaking in the state assembly after Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Bhaskar Jadhav said the government should clarify its stand on senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi's comments that a person coming to Mumbai may not necessarily learn Marathi.
Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi's remarks praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb sparked outrage in the Maharashtra legislature, leading to calls for his suspension and accusations of treason. The issue, which was politicized by both the ruling coalition and opposition parties, led to the adjournment of both Houses of the state legislature. Azmi later retracted his statements, saying they were twisted and that he had not made any derogatory remarks against Shivaji Maharaj or Sambhaji Maharaj. The BJP, however, seized the opportunity to slam the Congress and other opposition parties, accusing them of trying to "eradicate" Sanatan Dharma. The Mumbai police have initiated a probe into the matter, registering a case against Azmi for his remarks.
'Those seeking short-term benefits are joining the Shinde-led Sena and the ones looking at long-term benefits are joining the BJP.'
The Samajwadi Party announced on Saturday that it would walk out of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi after Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray's close aide hailed the demolition of Babri mosque and a related newspaper advertisement.
Hours after Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar president Sharad Pawar said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies can not demand that a Leader of Opposition must be appointed as they do not have the required numbers, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Bhaskar Jadhav on Saturday claimed there is no provision in the law which talks about the appointment of the LoP in legislature merely on the strength of the party.
The respective Dussehra rallies of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray were once again about whose version of Hindutva is genuine and who is the true inheritor of party patriarch Bala Thackeray's legacy.
The Nationalist Congress Party leader was speaking in the assembly on a resolution moved by Speaker Rahul Narvekar urging the government to formulate a new women's policy.
'If they think they can silence us by suspending us, then they don't know what BJP MLAs are made of.'
Members of the Legislative Council asked how some former legislators could enter the Vidhan Bhavan premises amid COVID-19-related restrictions and sought a report on the matter.
It was a courtesy call as they had worked with Thackeray as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition government for the last two-and-half years, said Congress leader Nitin Raut.
The groups led by Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde on Monday expressed satisfaction after the Election Commission allotted them new names which mention 'Balasaheb' (Thackeray).
Leader of Opposition in the assembly Ajit Pawar (NCP) and fellow NCP leader Dilip Walse- Patil, who was home minister in the previous MVA government, too have been given 'Y-plus-escort' cover.
We will do whatever we can for the justice of the Marathi-speaking population in Karnataka, said Fadnavis.
The 12 suspended members are -- Sanjay Kute, Ashish Shelar, Abhimanyu Pawar, Girish Mahajan, Atul Bhatkhalkar, Parag Alavani, Harish Pimpale, Yogesh Sagar, Jay Kumar Rawat, Narayan kuche, Ram Satpute and Bunty Bhangdia.
The Election Commission on Monday allotted 'flaming torch' (mashaal) election symbol to the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena, rejecting their claim to the 'Trishul' citing religious connotation.
They were suspended from the assembly after the state government had accused them of "misbehaving" with presiding officer Bhaskar Jadhav in the speaker's chamber.
Jadhav said that after Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal answered Devendra Fadnavis's remarks on OBC reservation with 'evidence', the BJP became 'uneasy'.
'The margin of victory or loss would make both camps rethink their strategies for the 2024 assembly election in Maharashtra.'
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court's judgment in which it termed the suspension of 12 BJP members of the Maharashtra legislative assembly as "unconstitutional" and "irrational".
Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly Narhari Zirwal on Friday asked the legislature secretary not to respond to the Supreme Court's notice on a plea filed by 12 Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs challenging their one-year suspension.
Replying to a debate on law and order in the Lower House, Walse Patil said Pravin Chavan has resigned as the special public prosecutor.
At a time when the lavish wedding of a Maharashtra minister's children has come under the scanner, it now emerges that almost half the ministers in the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government have flouted Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan's directive to declare assets.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday took a dig over the appointment of Bhaskar Jadhav as the new president of the Maharashtra unit of the Nationalist Congress Party, saying he had once given the party chief Sharad Pawar sleepless nights. "When Jadhav (then a state minister) had spent excessively during the wedding of his son, Pawar had said he could not sleep. Now, after appointing Jadhav, we wish Pawar a good sleep," state BJP chief Devendra Fadnavis quipped.
The Maharashtra government on Monday said it would take a positive decision on the demand that a memorial to the late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray be constructed at the Shivaji Park ground in the city, where he was cremated on Sunday. Senior Sena leader Manohar Joshi had made the demand on Sunday.
The income tax department has conducted searches at the premises of Maharashtra minister Bhaskar Jadhav, after he came under scanner for the lavish wedding hosted at Chiplun, when many parts of the state were facing the prospect of a severe drought.
Pawar, who founded the NCP in 1999 after walking out of the Congress, said he worked in opposition for 27 years.
Maharashtra Minister of State for Urban Development Bhaskar Jadhav on Friday called for a consensus among all political parties to check migration to Mumbai.
The Supreme Court Tuesday said suspension from legislative assembly for one year should be linked with some purpose and there has to be an 'overpowering' reason that the member should not be allowed to even attend the next session.
Thackeray met the legislators to apprise them of the government formation process and meetings of Congress-Nationalist Congress Party leaders in Delhi.
The Supreme Court on Friday held that a resolution suspending 12 Bharatiya Janata Party legislators from the Maharashtra legislative assembly beyond the period of the remainder of the session held in July 2021 is "unconstitutional" and "irrational".
The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Monday passed a resolution urging the Centre to provide the 2011 census data to enable the State Backward Class Commission to prepare an empirical data of the OBC population, in a bid to restore political reservations for its members in local bodies.
With Narayan Rane, the BJP looks to expand its footprint in Mumbai and Konkan. But a perceived self-goal by him may have galvanised the restive Shiv Sena cadre and voters to coalesce around their party. Dhaval Kulkarni reports
Stating that it was a "conscious" decision to quit electoral politics, Union Agriculture Minister and Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar on Friday filed his nomination papers for the biennial Rajya Sabha polls scheduled to be held on February 7.
Political parties in Maharashtra reacted strongly to the Supreme Court verdict.
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