It said in a parliamentary democracy, the speaker is an officer of the assembly and performs the function of presiding over the House proceedings and representing the House for all intents and purposes.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena has moved the Bombay high court challenging the legality of the decision taken by the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker to not disqualify 14 MLAs belonging to the rival faction headed by former CM Uddhav Thackeray.
The incident caused embarrassment to the Eknath Shinde-led state government and invited criticism from the opposition parties. CM Shinde said the statue was designed and constructed by the Indian Navy.
Devendra Fadnavis, BJP legislature party leader, will be sworn-in as the new chief minister of Maharashtra on Thursday evening at a grand ceremony in Mumbai. NCP head Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde are also expected to take oath as deputy chief ministers. This is for the third time that Fadnavis will be sworn-in as the CM of Maharashtra. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, where elaborate security arrangements have been made. The formation of the government under Fadnavis comes after two weeks of intense negotiations following the November 20 state assembly polls. Fadnavis, joined by Shinde and Pawar, met with state Governor CP Radhakrishnan to formally stake claim to form the government. Following this meeting, the governor extended an invitation for Fadnavis to lead the new government. The swearing-in ceremony will be a grand affair with nearly 42,000 attendees, including PM Modi, several Union ministers, and chief ministers and deputy CMs of various states.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction on Wednesday alleged that Rutuja Latke, its candidate for the November 3 byelection to Andheri East assembly seat in Mumbai, was being pressured by the Eknath Shinde camp to contest on their ticket.
Thackeray claimed when the Shiv Sena was with the BJP, he (Shinde) would say the BJP is harming the Sena.
Dharashiv, earlier Osmanabad, is among the eight districts that comprise the state's Marathwada region, where activist Manoj Jarange has led an agitation demanding reservation for Marathas in education and government jobs.
'Often people outside paint a wrong picture of us of Kashmiris. We are not like that. We are cool and bindaas,' said the lady, a teacher, caressing my cheeks in the pressing crowds.
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.
Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra legislative assembly Ajit Pawar on Thursday alleged that a scam of Rs 500 crore took place in the state information and publicity department during the tenure of the government led by Devendra Fadnavis.
The Sena and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray labelled each other gaddar (traitor) after Shinde's rebellion split their original party last year, while Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis publicly asserted he had exacted revenge on Thackeray for his betrayal.
Is the gentleman in the suit standing behind Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat who we think it is?
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance on Saturday retained power in Maharashtra, pocketing a whopping 230 of the 288 assembly seats, as the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi's dream of wresting power fizzled, with the opposition combine managing to garner just 50 seats.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has slammed the BJP over its stance on the Waqf Amendment Bill, accusing the party of a "fraudulent" approach and of trying to take away land for its industrialist friends. He also dared the BJP to remove the green color from its party flag if it disliked Muslims. Thackeray's comments come after the bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has alleged that leaders of the opposition Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) were involved in a "conspiracy" against his cabinet colleague Jaykumar Gore in a case involving a woman. Fadnavis said there was proof of communication between NCP leaders Supriya Sule and Rohit Pawar, and one of the accused in the case where three persons, including the woman, have been arrested for trying to extort money from Gore. He also pointed to Gore's acquittal more than five years ago in a case involving the woman's allegations of harassment. Fadnavis emphasized that opposition and ruling parties are political opponents and not enemies. The CM also criticized the behavior of some opposition members in the state assembly, accusing them of insulting the House and pressuring ministers.
In their first cabinet meeting held hours after coming to power, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis took the first step towards overturning the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government's decision of relocating the proposed Mumbai Metro Line-3 car shed from Aarey Colony.
Bhujbal said he had an elaborate discussion with the CM on the prevailing political and social atmosphere in the state.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has written a letter to the state legislative council's deputy chairperson seeking that Viplove Bajoria be made the Shiv Sena's chief whip in the Upper House, a move apparently aimed at further cornering the faction led by former CM Uddhav Thackeray.
The Sena in its plea, filed through advocate Joel Carlos, said the party was holding the Dussehra rally every year at the Shivaji Park since 1966 and the civic body had always permitted it.
The Raj Thackeray-led MNS senses an opportunity after the Shiv Sena-UBT candidate's lead fell to less than 7,000 votes in the Worli assembly segment during the recent Lok Sabha polls.
Days after Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar joined the Maharashtra government, the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Wednesday claimed that only alleged economic offenders Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya were left to be inducted into the Bharatiya Janata Party.
In an interview to NDTV, Pawar came out in support of the Adani Group and criticised the narrative around Hindenburg Research's report on the conglomerate.
This is for the first time that the Thackeray family has lost control of the party that was founded in 1966 by Balasaheb Thackeray on the principles of justice for the sons of the soil.
'You can wake up a person who is sleeping, but how do you wake up a person who's pretending to sleep.'
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said the proposed refinery project at Barsu village in Ratnagiri district will not be implemented without the local people's consent, and appealed for calm in the area.
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.
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on July 11 the plea of Shiv Sena chief Sunil Prabhu seeking suspension from assembly of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and 15 rebel MLAs against whom disqualification pleas are pending.
Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal has launched a veiled attack on party president Ajit Pawar, claiming that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was in favor of his induction in the cabinet. Bhujbal expressed his disappointment and humiliation over his exclusion, alleging that he was treated like a "toy" by the party leadership. He also alleged that Ajit Pawar makes decisions for the NCP like Fadnavis does for the BJP and Eknath Shinde does for the Shiv Sena.
Eknath Shinde has been made chief minister to crush the Shiv Sena totally, completely, wholly, point out Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
Shinde also said directives will be issued to give the Kunbi caste certificates to blood relatives of a person who already possesses similar documents.
Thackeray also declared the candidature of Satyajit Patil, Bharti Kamdi and Karan Pawar from Hatkanangale, Palghar, and Jalgaon constituencies, respectively.
Activist Manoj Jarange, who is observing an indefinite fast for the Maratha quota demand, on Saturday said a series of hunger strikes will begin in every village in Maharashtra from October 29 if the government fails to grant the reservation immediately.
In a big political win for Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Wednesday held that the Shiv Sena faction led by him was the "real political party" when rival groups emerged in June 2022, and did not disqualify any MLA from the two camps, a verdict that adds another chapter in the Sena legacy war.
'Those seeking short-term benefits are joining the Shinde-led Sena and the ones looking at long-term benefits are joining the BJP.'
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party, has said that helming the NCP away from the shadows of his uncle and founder Sharad Pawar after the split is a huge responsibility.
'This is only a passing phase and the Sena would rise again like a phoenix'
The strains are telling as old friends and new enemies face each other in the battlefield.
This would give BJP the chance to explore Constitutional options for government formation if there is no clear-cut mandate, explains Sheela Bhatt.
The Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party group under Sharad Pawar on Friday demanded the resignation of Maharashtra Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the murder of Sena-UBT leader Abhishek Ghosalkar during a 'Facebook Live'.
Both the Shiv Senas - one of Maharashtra Chief minister Eknath Shinde and the other of Uddhav Thackeray - marked their foundation day on Monday, with attack on each other.