Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar MLA Jitendra Awhad arrived in handcuffs at the Vidhan Bhavan complex in Mumbai on the first day of the Maharashtra legislature's budget session on Monday to highlight 'growing attack' on freedom of expression and protest the deportation of illegal immigrants from the United States.
Political tensions rise in Maharashtra as OBC, SC, and ST groups express concerns over a government resolution on the Maratha quota. Chief Minister Fadnavis cautions against divisive politics, while Sharad Pawar accuses the government of weakening the social fabric.
Maratha quota movement leader Manoj Jarange is heading to Mumbai to launch a fresh hunger strike, demanding reservation for the Maratha community under the OBC category. He has agreed to meet a government delegation near Pune en route.
'What attitude has spawned such gruesomeness in the state of Saint Tukaram, Saint Dnyaneshwar, and great leaders like Chhatrapati Shivaji, Chhatrapati Shahu, Phule and Ambedkar?'
Two pilots and an engineer were killed after a helicopter crashed and caught fire in Maharashtra's Pune district on Wednesday morning, police said.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was on Wednesday named as the guardian minister of his home district Pune in place of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and cabinet minister Chandrakant Patil.
The government resolution does not spell out what action would be taken, if any, against those writing and publishing 'negative' news. Nor does it define 'negative news and "misinformation', explains Jyoti Punwani.
'We are not promising prosperity to these villagers. Instead, the focus is on self-sufficiency.'
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said the Mahayuti allies have agreed to conduct a 'performance audit' of ministers during their tenure.
Daughters of the late Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde are in the poll arena contesting from the Parli assembly and Beed Lok Sabha constituencies in a bid to retain their father's political legacy.
'Let Fadnavisji prove to the people of Maharashtra that he acts fairly against one and all.'
'These machines are standalone devices with no external connectivity, making hacking impossible. The chip in EVMs is one-time programmable, ensuring no changes can be made. Strict security and administrative protocols further prevent any tampering'
Ajit Pawar's NCP, a constituent of Mahayuti, was winning or leading in 41 of the 59 seats it contested as per the latest figures released by the Election Commission.
Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde has denied any involvement in the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, saying he is being targeted by the opposition and some leaders within the ruling alliance. He compared himself to Arjun from the Mahabharata, claiming he cannot be cornered like Abhimanyu. Munde also criticized the media trial and social media trolling he has faced since the murder.
The incident took place at Majalgaon in the district on Tuesday following which many locals gathered around the banner. Authorities promptly took it down, the official said.
Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore and Uttam Ghosh visit Parli-Vaijnath in Beed district of Maharashtra, where the sex ratio has dipped to abnormal levels over the decade, and rampant female infanticide has created an atmosphere of horror.
Reuters Photographers Francis Mascarenhas, Almaas Masood, Sanna Irshad Mattoo, Sharafat Ali, Anushree Fadnavis capture fascinating glimpses of polling in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha election on Monday, May 13, 2024, covering 96 constituencies spread over 10 states and Union Territories.
Maharashtra has witnessed 823 incidents of communal unrest since January this year, with demands for the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb and the spread of distorted facts on social media fomenting fresh trouble. Districts like Nandurbar, Pune (Rural), Ratnagiri, Sangli, Beed, and Satara have seen communal unrest in recent days due to right-wing organizations' demands for the demolition of the Mughal emperor's tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The state witnessed 4,836 Hindu-Muslim related communal crimes in 2024, with 170 incidents classified as cognisable and 3,106 as non-cognisable cases. The violence in Nagpur, triggered by protests demanding the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb, highlights the role of social media in spreading inflammatory content and instigating people. While the state has taken measures to curb the spread of misinformation, concerns remain over the impact on communities and the need for promoting peace and understanding.
Quota activist Manoj Jarange has announced that he will start an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in Mumbai from January 20 to intensify his demand of reservation for the Maratha community.
The Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, in a rare instance since the undivided Shiv Sena's fall out with the BJP in 2019, praised Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday for his efforts to turn Naxal-hit Gadchiroli district into a steel city.
Activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday reiterated that he will stop drinking water from Wednesday evening if his demand for reservation to the Maratha community is not fulfilled by the Maharashtra government.
The 10-day-old BJP-led Mahayuti alliance ministry in Maharashtra was expanded on Sunday, with 39 ministers being sworn in, taking its strength to 42. The BJP secured 19 ministerial berths, followed by 11 for the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 9 for Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. Governor P C Radhakrishnan administered the oath to the new ministers at the ceremony held in Nagpur. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were present.
A 24-year-old man has been arrested from Mahad in Raigad district of Maharashtra for allegedly threatening to kill state ministers Chhagan Bhujbal and Dhananjay Munde, both members of the Ajit Pawar camp of Nationalist Congress Party, a Pune police officer said on Tuesday.
Avinash Sable broke his own 3000m steeplechase national record while finishing sixth at the Diamond League meet in Paris.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast 'extremely heavy rains' at a few places in Marathwada, Mumbai and other parts of the coastal Konkan region of Maharashtra in the next 24 hours.
"I am not leaving the party. Defection is not in my blood," Pankaja told reporters.
'Looking at the changed political scenario in state, there is a need to think and decide the way ahead,' she wrote.
Later, authorities can decide whether the complaint is proper or not, Munde told reporters in Maharashtra's Beed district on Wednesday, adding that she expects action to be taken in the present case.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said an earthquake which impacted parts of the state on Wednesday was mild, and appealed to people to stay alert and not panic as the administration was taking all precautionary steps.
Peasants from Maharashtra's drought-affected Beed district feel the government machinery and politicians are indifferent to their plight.
150 BJP elected local representatives in Beed resign in protest against Pritam Munde's exclusion from the Union ministry.
The government is also considering if those who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus can be allowed to travel by local trains in Mumbai, he said.
Ajit Pawar was earlier sworn in as deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde government, while eight others, including Walse Patil and Bhujbal, were made ministers, the developments coming after a vertical split in the NCP.
'One murder gets national coverage because of political connections.' 'The other two and the brutal torture? Not much outrage.' 'Are Dalit and OBC lives worth less?'
When he started his indefinite hunger strike in support of Maratha quota in a village in adjoining Jalna district on August 29, it largely went unnoticed, but everything changed on September 1 when violence broke out when local authorities tried to move him to hospital.
Asked whether she would like to go to the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha, Pankaja Munde said it is too late to choose it.
A government medical officer was caught red-handed while allegedly conducting abortion at his private hospital in Kaij tehsil of Beed district in Maharashtra during a sting operation conducted by health officials and police on Sunday.
Fasting quota activist Manoj Jarange on Monday sought reservation for the Maratha community in entire Maharashtra and not in specific regions and warned the ongoing agitation will be ratcheted up if the demand was not fulfilled by the state government.
State Health Minister Rajesh Tope ordered a probe.
India's Avinash Sable finished a creditable fifth at the prestigious Diamond League Meet in Rabat, Morocco, shattering his own 3000m steeplechase national record for the eighth time.
