Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has written a letter to Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, claiming he was approached by "certain people' who asked him to assist in toppling the MVA government in Maharashtra so that the state could be forced into mid-term elections.
Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly Narhari Zirwal on Friday asked the legislature secretary not to respond to the Supreme Court's notice on a plea filed by 12 Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs challenging their one-year suspension.
Pawar said the result of the byelection to Dhule-Nandurbar seat, where the BJP's Amrish Patel won, was expected.
Raut also refuted the speculation of NCP leader Ajit Pawar joining the BJP.
'When I felt that the party is drifting away from Hindutva, I tried to speak to Uddhavji. But nobody was ready to listen.'
'The message the BJP is sending is that they are in no way responsible for Uddhav's downfall and it was only Shinde who is to be blamed.'
NCP MLA Anil Patil has expressed faith in the leadership of Sharad Pawar, indicating his return to the party fold.
The event, for which people had started gathering since morning, began around 11.30 am and went on till around 1 pm. That day, the nearest weather station to the spot of the programme recorded a maximum temperature of 38 degrees Celsius.
At least two farmers had ended their lives in Sillod during March 3 to 12, police had said. However, sources claimed at least six agriculturists had ended their lives in Aurangabad district in the Marathwada region during the same period, prima facie due to indebtedness.
Many celebrities including cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar rallied around the central government on social media using hashtags #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda following tweets by Rihanna and climate activist Greta Thunberg backing farmers who are protesting near Delhi border.
NCP president Sharad Pawar may be busy getting ready for the INDIA Opposition bloc meeting in Mumbai with other Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents, but his close friend and industrialist Dr Cyrus Poonawalla has a piece of advice for the octogenarian leader.
Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal, Randeep Surjewala and Jairam Ramesh of the Congress and Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut were among the 16 candidates elected to the Rajya Sabha from four states where polling was held on Friday after tussle over cross voting and alleged breach of election rules delayed the counting by around eight hours in Maharashtra and Haryana.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase on Sunday said the oath taken by nine NCP MLAs as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government does not have official support of the party.
Karnataka would vote on May 10, and the results will be declared on May 13.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) on Monday claimed Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has failed to create a successor who could take his party forward.
The Shiv Sena and the NCP suspect that either of them may walk into the waiting arms of the BJP. The Congress feels that the Sena and the NCP may eventually team up and marginalise it, reports Dhaval Kulkarni
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole has said that his party's top brass will discuss with Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar his much-debated meeting with politically estranged nephew and state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar when the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) holds its conclave in Mumbai later this month.
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.
Raut said the ED notice to Parab was "expected" and the party would fight it legally.
Thackeray inaugurated Lines 2-A and 7 of Mumbai Metro, which connect the western suburbs of Andheri and Dahisar.
The BJP's core committee will meet on Sunday and decide the future course of action, party leader Chandrakant Patil said.
Agitated BJP workers pulled down the damaged hoarding on Sunday night and demanded strict action against the culprits.
'I was never interested to work as Leader of Opposition but accepted the role on demand of the party MLAs'
"Whoever is eligible according to them will be inducted into the cabinet. I have no stand about it. I try to do my politics by maintaining my pride," she added.
Thackeray's tour comes a week after Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government.
Thackeray also claimed that the Maharashtra government is yet to receive a total of around Rs 38,000 crore from the Centre.
The unlikely power sharing agreement between the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress had fizzled out in June following large-scale dissidence in the Sena ranks.
The Sena appeared firm on its demand that the chief minister's post should be shared by the two allies for two-and-a-half years each.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Sena president Uddhav Thackeray will announce the quantum of seat sharing, Patil told reporters.
Sources from both parties said back channel talks are on between the two old but often-feuding Hindutva allies and a breakthrough is expected.
The newly-elected members couldn't take oath even one month after the results of the assembly polls were announced, due to political up and downs in the state.
Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Tuesday said suspended police officer Sachin Waze was a prime accused in the Mansukh Hiran murder case, adding it will approach the special National Investigation Agency court in Mumbai to get his custody.
Khadse had blamed Fadnavis for "trying to destroy his life" and political career, over three decades of it spent in strengthening the BJP in Maharashtra.
The Prime Minister's Office tweeted a picture of their meeting but shared no details about their talks.
Cross-voting was held during the Rajya Sabha elections and the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls last month.
The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Monday passed a resolution urging the Centre to provide the 2011 census data to enable the State Backward Class Commission to prepare an empirical data of the OBC population, in a bid to restore political reservations for its members in local bodies.
'Shinde and Fadnavis have different working styles and certainly there is a crack that has come between them.'
Speaking in the legislative assembly on the condolence motion, Thackeray, without taking any names, said, "Some people have gratitude towards the city where they live and earn their livelihood, but some don't."
'The BJP leaders will go crazy if they are thrown out of power. They will lose their mental balance'
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