Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare has called for a thorough investigation into the Ashok Kharat case, urging Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to prioritise the investigation over political manoeuvring. Andhare also demanded that the SIT probe former minister Deepak Kesarkar and former state women's commission chairperson Rupali Chakankar.
Former Maharashtra School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar on Thursday said he had given financial help to Rohit Arya, who died in a police operation earlier in the day after taking 19 people hostage in Powai area.
Maharashtra minister Dada Bhuse on Friday said he has sought a report regarding the work hostage-taker Rohit Arya had done with the education department.
Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal alleges Mumbai police surveillance, claiming an officer entered his room. He questions if CM Fadnavis ordered the snooping. BJP denies the allegations. Sapkal also raises questions about a hostage situation and accuses the CM of shielding criminals.
Rohit Arya, who had released a video statement during the hostage drama that went on for about an hour, was shot dead by the police when he tried to harm the children with an air gun and later died at hospital, an official said.
Shiv Sena leader Shahajibapu Patil accuses the BJP of undermining him politically by supporting his rival in Sangola during the Maharashtra assembly elections. He claims the BJP helped PWP candidate Babasaheb Deshmukh despite his support for the BJP in the Lok Sabha election.
'The rescue of 17 children represents exemplary police action that merits considerable appreciation.' 'However, this encounter was profoundly unfortunate because somebody has lost his life.'
Home Minister Amit A Shah took a break from his frenetic governmental and political decision making to worship at the famed Lalbaugcha Raja Ganpati pandal in Mumbai.
The assembly polls were fought under Eknath Shinde's leadership and it is now up to the Bharatiya Janata Party's central leadership to decide on how to maintain his stature, the caretaker Maharashtra chief minister's aide and former state minister Deepak Kesarkar said on Monday.
Kesarkar alleged Shinde was insulted on the Shiv Sena foundation day (June 19) last year.
'Mahayuti leaders will sit together and discuss and go to Delhi and then a decision will be taken'
'It is our right to not go there and pay a visit. It is the prerogative of every party on whether to visit a particular place or not'
Fadnavis, seen as a front runner for the chief minister's post, will meet the top party leaders.
'We pressurised him (to accept the deputy chief ministership).' 'Being out of power would have made him weaker.'
Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal expressed disappointment at not being included in the new Mahayuti government in Maharashtra. He stated he would decide his future course after consulting with his constituency. Bhujbal was one of several prominent leaders excluded from the new cabinet, which was expanded on Sunday. The exclusion sparked reactions from other political figures, including former minister Deepak Kesarkar and Congress leader Bhai Jagtap.
People from different walks of life gathered outside the residence of Ratan Tata in south Mumbai on Thursday morning to pay their respects to the veteran industrialist, who died in a hospital in Mumbai.
The Maharashtra minister alleged that Muslim voters were convinced that Uddhav Thackeray had "forsaken" Hindutva ideologies and the ideals of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray which led to them coming together to help the Congress and Shiv Sena-UBT candidates.
The Maharashtra government has declared a day of mourning in the state on Thursday to pay tributes to industrialist Ratan Tata, the Chief Minister's Office said.
With this, the Shiv Sena has become the second major political party to release its list of candidates for the state assembly polls. Its ally BJP released a list of 99 candidates on Sunday.
Legendary industrialist Ratan Tata's body was on Thursday morning taken from his house in a hearse, decked with white flowers, to the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in south Mumbai where it would be kept for people to pay their last respects.
As suspense over who will become the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra continues, Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Sunday backed his party's chief, Ajit Pawar, for the top post.
Deepak Kesarkar, a Sena MLA and spokesperson for the rebel faction headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, sought to know what Pawar gained by causing pain to Bal Thackeray.
Is a sulking Eknath Shinde on the way out as Shiv Sena chief?
The formation of a new government in Maharashtra has been delayed due to a disagreement between the Shiv Sena and BJP over who should be the next chief minister. Shiv Sena insists on Eknath Shinde continuing as CM while the BJP favors Devendra Fadnavis. The delay comes despite the BJP-led coalition winning a landslide victory in the recent assembly elections. Sources suggest that the coalition has not reached a consensus on the CM, with various leaders from both parties voicing their opinions on the matter.
'The NCP fires the gun from Raut's shoulders and who does the bullet hit? Not enemies of our party but loyalists like us. This is not acceptable to us'
The Nationalist Congress Party on Thursday demanded an inquiry into Maharashtra minister Deepak Kesarkar's claim that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde would have shot himself if his revolt against the Shiv Sena leadership had failed last year.
We made it clear that we have hurt the head of our family (Thackeray), but we will not allow any criticism against him, Kesarkar said.
He said Shinde has already made it clear his faction is not interested in staking claim to the Shiv Sena Bhavan or any property linked to the Thackeray group.
Pawar, who joined the Shinde government earlier this month, was allocated the same portfolio once again, raising questions as to how the Sena MLAs react.
Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs led by senior leader Eknath Shinde, who are currently camping in Goa, will hold a meeting on Thursday to decide the way forward as they are likely to support the Bharatiya Janata Party to form the next government in Maharashtra following the resignation of Uddhav Thackeray as the chief minister.
Currently, CM Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis are the only members of the cabinet.
The protest against the alleged sexual abuse of two girls at a school in Badlapur town of Maharashtra's Thane district turned violent on Tuesday as the angry agitators vandalised the school and also indulged in stone-pelting at the local railway station during the 'rail blockade', police said.
His chamber had a large photograph of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray and a picture of Shinde's mentor Anand Dighe next to it.
'We have not hijacked the party, the NCP and the Congress have hijacked it'
Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday paid floral tributes to the martyrs who laid down their lives while fighting terrorists who attacked the metropolis on this day 15 years ago.
Shinde had retained most of the sitting MLAs, who chose to be with him when he led the rebellion two years ago. They delivered for him on Saturday when votes for the state polls were counted.
The situation in Maharashtra's Kolhapur is gradually returning to normal, a day after violence during a demonstration against the alleged use of Tipu Sultan's image along with an objectionable audio message as social media 'status' by a few locals, a senior police official said on Thursday.
The seat-sharing arrangement between the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party will be the same as that in 2019, senior Sena leader Gajanan Kirtikar said on Friday.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has expressed his displeasure over the way a section of MLAs from his group danced in Goa following the announcement of his name for the top post.
Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs from Maharashtra have contributed Rs 51 lakh for the flood relief wok in Assam, where they have been camping since the last week, their spokesperson said on Wednesday.
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