Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar Maharashtra unit president Shashikant Shinde on Saturday said his party chief Sharad Pawar and other leaders had no prior knowledge about the decision that Nationalist Congress Party's Sunetra Pawar would take oath as the state deputy chief minister.
'When a grassroots worker has laboured day and night for the organisation, does the party not have a responsibility to recognise and uplift such workers?'
The accused challenged a trial court's order rejecting their bail plea in the December 2023 incident.
The opposition Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) conceded defeat in the elections to municipal councils and nagar panchayats, accusing the election commission of 'facilitating' the victory of the ruling Mahayuti alliance.
The Congress party stated that Rahul Gandhi's lawyer raised the issue of a threat to his life without his consent and will withdraw the statement in court. The lawyer filed an application stating Gandhi could face harm from followers of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Nathuram Godse's ideology.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's lawyer on Thursday withdrew from a Pune court the plea claiming apprehension of threat to the parliamentarian from followers of Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the incident of Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad slapping an employee of a canteen at the MLAs' hostel in Mumbai sends out a wrong message about all legislators that they indulge in misuse of power.
Amol Shinde (25), a resident of Zari village in Chakur tehsil of Latur, was arrested on Wednesday along with Neelam, 42, of Haryana's Hisar, after they opened gas canisters that emitted smoke outside the Parliament building and shouted Tanashahi Nahi Chalegi (dictatorship will not be allowed), "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and "Jai Bhim, Jai Bharat".
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.
The chargesheet, spread over 1,000 pages, was filed before the Patiala House Court in June and the court took its cognisance last month. A supplementary was filed in July.
Amol Shinde, arrested for protesting outside the Parliament building on Wednesday, had left his village in Maharashtra's Latur district saying he was going to Delhi to take part in an army recruitment drive, a local police official said.
Several burnt parts of phones allegedly belonging to the accused involved in the Parliament security breach incident have been recovered from Rajasthan, police sources said on Sunday.
A special court in Pune on Friday granted bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case related to his alleged objectionable remarks on Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi pleaded not guilty in a Pune court in a defamation case pertaining to his comments on Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar. The case was filed by Satyaki Savarkar, a grandnephew of V D Savarkar, accusing Gandhi of making false allegations against the Hindutva ideologue during his address in London in March 2023.
The submission was made before additional sessions judge Hardeep Kaur, who extended the judicial custody of all the six accused till March 1.
A Delhi court on Thursday sent the four accused arrested for the shocking breach of security at the new Parliament building to the city police's custody for seven days for interrogation.
Ruling Shiv Sena's MLA Sanjay Gaikwad allegedly slapped an employee of a canteen at the MLA's hostel in Mumbai after complaining about being served stale food.
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.
Earlier, the police had said that Lalit Jha was the mastermind behind the December 13 incident.
The two persons who opened smoke canisters in the Lok Sabha chamber had smuggled them in cavities cut into the left sole of custom-made sports shoes supported by thick rubber layers, according to Delhi Police's FIR.
The ruling Mahayuti members in both houses of the Maharashtra legislature condemned state Congress head Harshvardhan Sapkal's remarks comparing Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and demanded strict action against him. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said the remarks will be verified and action will be taken accordingly as per the law. The state legislative council witnessed an uproar after the ruling Mahayuti members raised the issue of Sapkal's remarks, and the proceedings were suspended for 10 minutes. BJP group leader Pravin Darekar said comparing the chief minister to Aurangzeb is a highly condemnable act and an insult to Maharashtra. He also demanded that a case be filed against Sapkal and strict action be taken to set an example.
Police sources mentioned that all accused were associated with a social media page 'Bhagat Singh Fan Club.'
A Delhi court on Thursday extended till January 5 the police custody of four accused arrested in the Parliament security breach case, after the city police said they needed to uncover all those involved in the conspiracy.
Four persons arrested in connection with the security breach in Parliament have been charged under the anti-terror law UAPA besides sections of the Indian Penal Code, police sources said on Thursday as security agencies were on the hunt to nab the alleged mastermind.
They have been interrogated for their actual motive behind the security breach, the sources added.
Police said the four were part of a group of six people who planned the incident.
The police officials said all the five accused will have to undergo the polygraph test, while Sagar and Manoranjan will have to undergo additional naro-analysis and brain mapping tests.
Discordant voices emerged on Sunday from the Mahayuti even as the alliance continued to remain in the throes of government formation more than week after it swept the Maharashtra assembly polls.
Amid demands from the Opposition for a statement by Home Minister Amit Shah on the issue of Parliament security breach, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla Thursday asserted that as custodian of the Parliament complex, it was his responsibility to ensure security.
The name of Devendra Fadnavis has been finalised as the new chief minister of Maharashtra who will be elected as the legislature party leader in a meeting to be held either on December 2 or 3, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader said on Sunday night.
Police have also collected bank account details of all the accused to see if they received money from someone for executing the December 13 incident, police sources said on Monday.
The Parliament security breach on Wednesday was well-coordinated, meticulously planned and carried out by six accused, five of whom have been nabbed, police sources said on Wednesday.
A man and a woman were detained on Wednesday while they were protesting outside the Parliament building carrying cans that emitted a yellowish and red smoke, the police said in New Delhi.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections saw a fierce contest between two coalitions and six major players. Despite securing over one lakh votes, 58 candidates lost the election. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Sharad Pawar suffered the most, with 22 candidates losing despite receiving over one lakh votes. Other prominent losing candidates included former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and senior Congress leaders Balasaheb Thorat and Dhiraj Deshmukh. The Mahayuti coalition, comprising the Shiv Sena, BJP, and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, retained power by winning 230 out of 288 assembly seats.
Even before the first votes are counted in Maharashtra, fissures have emerged within the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on who will head the next government. Both camps are claiming the chief minister's post, with constituents in both camps laying claim over the chief minister's post. The MVA, consisting of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), and the Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, have expressed confidence that their respective alliance will form the next government after votes are counted on Saturday. While a majority of exit polls have predicted that Mahayuti will retain power, a few have favored the MVA.
FIR has also been registered against a polling personnel Dinesh Gurav, who was an Encore (poll portal) operator with the Election Commission.
Senior Congress leader and Maharashtra assembly poll candidate Balasaheb Thorat has asserted that the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will win a clear majority and also indicated his chief ministerial aspirations. Thorat, who is among the senior leaders in the MVA after NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar, said he enjoys cordial relations with leaders of the alliance. He also criticized the ruling Mahayuti coalition, accusing it of corruption and communal politics.
The special team of Delhi Police searched Parliament breach accused Neelam Azad's residence in Haryana's Jind and took away her old diary and some books.
It is only the chief minister who can "treat" his nausea, the NCP hits back.
Jha, who had been on run since Wednesday when four people breached security protocol inside and outside Parliament, walked inside a police station in the New Delhi district Thursday night and is now being interrogated by a counter intelligence team, the police source said.
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