"Barring fire extinguishers, the other safety measures that we had suggested were not there," the official said.
He staked everything to ensure the BJP returned to power; and now that it has, he stands to lose a lot, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Overhaul of the goods and services tax (GST) structure, including possible changes in the tax slabs, may now be taken up only after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, given the number of states that are going to the polls in its run-up. "No major overhaul of tax rates is expected in GST until the end of next fiscal year. One major reason for this is that some members of the group of ministers (GoM) - mandated to look at rate rationalisation by the GST Council - are from poll-bound states. Later, this may lead to reconstitution of the panel," a senior government official told Business Standard. Besides, both the Centre and states are not in favour of frequent changes in the tax rates amid inflationary uncertainties; they believe any major change should be brought in after extensive deliberations, according to the official.
Contradicting Ashok Chavan, the promoter of scam-tainted Adarsh Society on Monday said the former Maharashtra chief minister himself had suggested increase in the number of civilians in the society, which was essentially meant for defence personnels.
Opposition leader in the legislative council Vinod Tawde, alleged that the local hand in terrorism has been exposed after Abu Jundal's arrest.
According to political analysts, the results of these bypolls, which saw a high-voltage campaign by senior leaders from various parties, will set the tone for the forthcoming elections in the state, including of the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and other civic bodies.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Friday announced setting up of "appropriate" memorial of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji in the Arabian sea off the Mumbai coast.
The move prompted a strong reaction from the Congress, with its state unit chief Ajay Kumar Lallu equating it with the 1919 Rowlatt Act or Black Act and saying that the party will explore legal options to challenge it.
Siddaramaiah, who is upset over his loyalist former Union Minister C M Ibrahim being denied nomination, said he has already shot off his resignation letter to party president Sonia Gandhi and state party chief G Parameshwar.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, an influential political party in Andhra Pradesh, pulled the rug from under the feet of the ruling Congress government on Monday after terming it "communal, a stooge of Sangh Parivar and anti-people".
Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Friday said he will take part in a protest planned in Mumbai to express support for farmers agitating against the new agri-marketing laws enacted by the Modi government.
The National Judicial Commission Bill, 2022, was introduced after the majority of voice votes were in its favour.
'He is exposing the failings of the BJP, which is rankling the party.'
The 26-member Cabinet, including the Chief Minister, has three women members; two from the Scheduled Castes and one from the Scheduled Tribes.
Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday said a Rs 1,600 crore financial package has been sanctioned for the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants.
If Saudi Arabia, with just two Muslim holy sites of Mecca and Medina, can create a huge tourism-based ecosystem beyond oil, Ayodhya is sure to become the world's hottest religious tourism site in less than a decade, predicts R Jagannathan.
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday said 'vested interests' were responsible for the recent killings of Sarpanches and Panches even as it said it is duty-bound to empower Panchayats in the state and has taken steps in this regard.
Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker K R Suresh Reddy accepted the resignations of 16 Telangana Rashtra Samithi MLAs, who had quit their seats to protest the failure of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government to create a separate Telangana state, in Hyderabad on Friday. On March 3, four TRS MPs, led by party president K Chandrasekhar Rao, had submitted their resignations to Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee. The resignations were accepted.
Maharashtra's Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council and senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde refuted reports of an alliance of the Shiv Sena-BJP and the Republican Party of India (Athawale) with the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
Rebel Shiv Sena MLA Sada Sarvankar allegedly fired a round during a clash between workers of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's camp early on Sunday, following which police registered a case against him, his son and some others, officials said.
Nitin Gadkari, national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, had Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani to 'high tea' last evening at his Nagpur residence. The meeting was termed a 'courtesy call'.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday held discussions with Tipra Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, in the presence of Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda, over various issues faced by the indigenous people of Tripura, a senior leader of the saffron party said.
The notification for the President poll will be issued on June 15, the CEC said, and June 29 will be the last date for the filing of nominations.
Disgruntled Janata Dal-United leader Upendra Kushwaha on Monday resigned from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party, less than two years after returning to the party, and announced formation of the 'Rashtriya Loktantrik Janata Dal'.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked about the "source of power" of the lieutenant governor under the Constitution and the law to nominate 10 aldermen to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) without the aid and advice of the elected government.
Political parties in Maharashtra will have to gear up for the biennial Rajya Sabha and legislative council polls soon after next month's local bodies elections in the state, with Union Ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and Rajiv Shukla among those seeking re-election.
Prakash, former state home minister, who has launched a banner of revolt against Gowda for certain 'unilateral' decisions adopted by him on party matters including toppling of the BJP-led coalition government, called the meeting to decide future course of action.
The Act deals with automatic disqualification of MPs and state legislators upon being convicted and sentenced for two years or more in a criminal case.
In the midst of the stand-off between the Congress and its ally Nationalist Congtress Party at the Centre, the urban development department headed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Friday came in for criticism by his Deputy Ajit Pawar over its alleged failure to spend funds allocated to it.
Terming as "inappropriate" the transfer of Central Bureau of Investigation Joint Director Rishi Raj Singh who headed the probe in the Adarsh scam, a senior Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party leader has requested the Centre to put it on hold.
A delegation of Congress leaders from Karnataka on Saturday met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh demanding immediate appropriate action on Governor H R Bhardwaj's report to the Centre recommending dismissal of the B S Yeddyurappa government in the state.
Shiv Sena president and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday reached out to the functionaries of his party, which is currently battling a rebellion, and sought to allay fears surrounding the survival of his political outfit and the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
Vidhan Sabha Principal Secretary and Returning Officer R P Pandey declared Mayawati and Maurya elected unopposed after the expiry of the time for withdrawal of nominations on Thursday.
The political uproar continues in Bihar, as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party wanted to make R C P Singh the Eknath Shinde of Bihar and isolate the Janata Dal-United party.
Ansari said the Muslim community is now shedding the 'illusion' created by opposition parties like the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress.
Gujarat assembly Speaker Nimaben Acharya, who won from Bhuj seat of Kutch district in 2012 and 2017, has also been denied ticket this time by the party.
Seattle is not only the first American city to ban caste discrimination but is the first jurisdiction at any level globally outside South Asia to do so.
It seems as if Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's war against corruption is a mere slogan for his members of Legislative Council. Recent audit has revealed that they submitted fake bills to claim travel allowance of lakhs of rupees from 2006 to 2011, officials on Wednesday said.
Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party vice president and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa's son BY Vijayendra on Monday said he will contest the 2023 state assembly polls if the party's central leadership gives its nod.
Based on the girl's complaint, the Manpada police in Dombivli registered a case on Wednesday night against 33 persons under IPC sections 376 (rape), 376 (n) (repeated rape), 376 (d) (gang-rape), 376 (3) (rape on a woman under sixteen years of age) and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said.
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