"A BJP leader had told me that my phone was being tapped. I said if anybody wants to listen to what I am saying I welcome it. I am Balasaheb's chela (disciple), whatever I do, I do it openly," Raut told reporters. "In spite of the phone-tapping, we formed the government in Maharashtra," he said. Raut's remarks come a day after state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh alleged that the Fadnavis dispensation misused government machinery to tap the phones of opposition leaders, especially during the formation of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray was denied permission to meet jailed party MP Sanjay Raut and asked by authorities to take the court's approval for meeting him in prison, a senior jail official said on Wednesday.
The Indian government briefed an all-party meeting on Thursday on the success of "Operation Sindoor", the retaliatory airstrikes against Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack. Top government functionaries and opposition leaders met for a second time in a fortnight amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan. The meeting was chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by several prominent leaders from various political parties. The government highlighted the strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base Muridke.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) has strongly criticized its ally, NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar, for felicitating Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at an event in Delhi. The party's spokesperson, Sanjay Raut, views the felicitation as an endorsement of BJP leader Amit Shah, who was instrumental in Shinde's split from the Shiv Sena. While Pawar's party maintains that the event focused on literature, BJP interprets it as an acknowledgment of Shinde's leadership. The incident has sparked a political controversy in Maharashtra, with both sides engaging in verbal sparring.
"Farmers' organisations in western UP have expressed their willingness to support the Shiv Sena and we may ally with smaller parties. In Goa, efforts are on to explore a formula like MVA. Let's see if we succeed," Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said.
Notably, leaders of 13 Opposition parties on Saturday expressed deep concern over the recent incidents of hate speech and communal violence in the country and urged people to maintain peace and harmony.
Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com brings you the latest drama surrounding government formation in Maharashtra.
Shiv Sena member of Parliament Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party was using central agencies to topple the Maharashtra government by targeting the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders and their family members.
Akhtar criticised vested interest groups in Pakistan, particularly the army, the political establishment and the extreme right wing, for blocking peace efforts between the two nations.
Kunal Kamra has accepted money from Uddhav Thackeray and is targeting Eknath Shinde, Mhaske alleged.
"No government can be formed without Congress, which is a major and deeply-rooted party in the country. Congress is the main opposition party too. Others are regional parties," Raut said in Pune
The Bombay high court on Wednesday dismissed a 39-year-old woman's plea alleging that she was harassed and stalked by some people at the behest of her husband and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut.
Shiv Sena-UBT MP Sanjay Raut claimed that former Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena head Eknath Shinde wanted to join the Congress in the past. Raut's claim comes after former Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole offered Shinde and Ajit Pawar the "rotational post of the chief minister" if they switched to the opposition alliance. Raut said that "nothing is impossible in politics" and that Shinde and Ajit Pawar are carrying the flags of the BJP.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said whatever the people of Maharashtra wish will happen, comments coming amid intense speculation over possibility of an alliance between his party and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena led by his estranged cousin Raj.
Five Shiv Sena workers, including brother of Shiv Sena Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut, were arrested on Monday in connection with a case of theft and house breaking after the Bombay high court rapped the police for not initiating any action in pursuance to the matter.
Maharashtra's lesson to the country is to not to fear anyone. We have shown the way to the country, Raut said.
An Indian delegation led by the BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad will tour key European capitals to expose Pakistan's role in cross-border terrorism and State-sponsored extremism.
The Shiv Sena leader said the politics of Maharashtra was changing and his party would win in its fight for justice.
The Maharashtra government, led by a coalition of the BJP and Shiv Sena, has admitted that it cannot increase the monthly financial aid under the Ladki Bahin Yojana to Rs 2,100, as promised during the 2024 assembly polls. The government cites severe financial stress as the reason. Social Justice Minister Sanjay Shirsat, a Shiv Sena leader, has said that the scheme will continue with the existing amount of Rs 1,500, but the increase is not feasible at this time. The minister also accused the Finance Department, led by Ajit Pawar, of diverting funds from his department without his knowledge. He called for a law to ensure that the social justice and tribal affairs departments receive their allocated funds. The statement comes as an embarrassment for the Mahayuti government, which had heavily campaigned on the promise of increasing the Ladki Bahin Yojana aid.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam has alleged the involvement of individuals with links to Bangladesh in the recent violence in Nagpur. Nirupam also claimed the violence was "pre-meditated" and was part of a larger conspiracy. He further expressed concerns about the broader implications of the stance of the Shiv Sena (UBT), suggesting the Uddhav Thackeray-led party has shifted to an "anti-Hindu" position. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, however, said it was too early to comment on a foreign or Bangladeshi link to the Nagpur violence.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Friday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Mumbai to record his statement in connection with a money laundering probe.
He said the farmers, who were known as 'warriors' when they fought the Mughals and the British, are now dubbed as anti-nationals when they are fighting for their rights on Delhi's borders.
He said the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi was studying the poll results and "technicalities" behind them.
Former Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) Chief Uddhav Thackeray met Arvind Kejriwal's family in New Delhi on Thursday, August 8, 2024.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has stated that there are ongoing "emotional talks" between his party and the MNS, though no formal alliance has been announced. Raut clarified that Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has not set any preconditions for rapprochement with his cousin, MNS president Raj Thackeray. The speculation about a possible reconciliation began after Raj Thackeray expressed willingness to work with Uddhav in a podcast interview. However, the MNS spokesperson downplayed the significance of Raj Thackeray's remarks, emphasizing the need for the Sena (UBT) to support the MNS's agitation for Marathi language and people. Uddhav Thackeray, while open to reconciliation, has cautioned against working with those deemed "enemies" of Maharashtra, an apparent reference to the BJP and the Shinde-led Sena.
Shiv Sena-Uhhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday said the seat-sharing talks between his party and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar have concluded as these two parties are driven by a desire and mindset to resolve issues.
'We were told that the 'yuvaraj' had announced to contest 151 seats, and they were not willing to back down on that number'
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
'It was a reaffirmation of his party's unrelenting defiance of its erstwhile ally, the BJP; an attempt to forge a new relationship with the community the Shiv Sena had always targeted; and a pointer towards the political imperative of taking everyone along if the fight against the ruling party had to succeed,' notes Jyoti Punwani.
Kamra taunted Shinde using a modified version of a Hindi song from the film Dil To Pagal Hai, eliciting laughter from the audience.
Raut claimed that by not deciding on the disqualification petitions, Chandrachud kept doors and windows open for defections.
The firebrand leader of the Shiv Sena underwent an angioplasty at the Lilavati Hospital on Monday evening hours after he complained of chest pain.
Raut said a Congress-AAP alliance would have crushed the BJP in Delhi assembly polls, as counting trends show the Arvind Kejriwal-led party losing many seats amid the saffron surge.
In an Instagram post on Monday, the studio said: "We are shocked, worried and extremely broken by the recent acts of vandalism targeting us."
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on Friday took a dig at Shiv Sena chief and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and claimed a rift in the latter's party, saying Maharashtra will have a third deputy chief minister from the fold.
An editorial in the Sena-UBT mouthpiece Saamana also claimed the possibility of rapprochement between Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray has rattled "Maharashtra baiters".
Shiv Sena-UBT leaders do not maintain any contact with those who left, said Raut whose party is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance along with NCP-SP and Congress.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on Monday warned Congress about fielding a candidate for the Solapur South assembly seat, for which his party has already announced a nominee.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday blamed Congress leaders in Maharashtra for the delay in Maha Vikas Aghadi's seat-sharing talks for the upcoming assembly elections.
"It is just that Fadnavis and I have swapped our chairs. Only Ajit Pawar's chair is fixed," said Shinde, who was the CM before the assembly elections with Fadnavis and Pawar as his deputies then.
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