A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will hear on September 27 an application by the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction seeking to restrain the Election Commission from deciding on the claim of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led group over the "original" Shiv Sena.
The draft bill seeks to amend relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for the proposed law's application in the state.
After the Shiv Sena's division in Maharashtra assembly, its parliamentary party was also staring at a split with several MPs set to petition Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to recognise them as a separate group.
He, however, said if at all the party rebels want to return, the doors of 'Matoshree' (the personal residence of Thackerays) are always open for them.
'The central BJP leaders were determined to push Hindutva hard, and it failed.'
With organisations like the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, which is a front of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, telling Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman they want OPS back, the government is in a bind, report Shiva Rajora and Aditi Phadnis.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis defended the state education minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vinod Tawde, who is caught up in a row over his educational qualification.
Congress legislature party leader said the MVA is on a stronger wicket legally.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building Sunday morning and installed the scared 'Sengol' in the Lok Sabha chamber, right next to the Speaker's chair, after performing a puja.
Shiv Sena rebel Eknath Shinde, camping in Guwahati, has claimed that he has the support of 34 MLAs of his party and passed a resolution on Wednesday evening reinstating himself as the leader of the Shiv Sena legislative party, a day after he was removed from the post by the Sena leadership.
The meeting came amid rumours that Shiv Sena is considering a patch-up with the Baratiya Janata Party, its ally of 35 years.
Conveying good wishes to people of the state and all political parties for the New Year, he however wished that the Congress comes to power.
The proposal is currently with the finance department and is expected to be placed before the Cabinet in the coming days.
Sena has challenged the Governor's June 30 decision to invite a coalition of the Shinde faction and the BJP to form government in Maharashtra.
Speaking at a rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on Saturday, Raj Thackeray had criticised Sharad Pawar, accusing him of 'playing the caste card from time to time and dividing society'.
Eknath Shinde has been made chief minister to crush the Shiv Sena totally, completely, wholly, point out Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said he would build new leadership in the party and asserted he gets more energy to work when such situations come up.
A statement from Raj Bhavan said that Koshyari requested the ECI to declare elections to the nine vacant seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council 'at the earliest'. The state cabinet had on April 9 recommended Thackeray's nomination as one of the governor nominees in the Legislative Council.
Referring to differences between Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Governor B S Koshyari over various issues, the Bombay high court on said Wednesday it was "unfortunate" that the two highest constitutional functionaries in the state "did not trust each other".
The Shiv Sena chief will be the first from the Thackeray family to be sworn in as the chief minister.
It's a major victory for the farmers who trekked 180 km from Nashik over six days under the blazing sun, some even barefooted.
Earlier, there were speculations that the party may nominate Pankaja Munde, the daughter of late BJP leader Gopinath Munde, for the MLC polls, to be held on June 20.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Goa looks all set to score a hattrick in the coastal state with the support of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, as vote counting trends of the February 14 elections indicated the BJP missing the majority mark by a whisker.
The government would extend to the Maratha community the educational concessions given to OBCs.
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.
'At the moment the anti-defection law works only in favour of Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena, the original Shiv Sena.' 'The Eknath Shinde camp is at a disadvantage unless they merge with another political party.' 'Otherwise, they will not be saved (from being disqualified).'
Thackeray spoke to Modi on phone and told him that attempts were being made to create political instability in the state, sources told PTI. "Political instability in a huge state like Maharashtra when it is facing the COVID-19 crisis is not right and Thackeray urged the PM to look into it," they said.
Members of the Legislative Council asked how some former legislators could enter the Vidhan Bhavan premises amid COVID-19-related restrictions and sought a report on the matter.
Sharad Pawar will attend a meeting of the NCP legislature party at 4 pm on Friday, party sources said on Thursday.
Thackeray, who is currently not a member of either of the Houses of state Legislature, was not present at the Cabinet meeting where the decision was taken.
As per a letter sent to the MLAs by the assembly secretariat, the chief minister has expressed his willingness to move a motion of confidence to prove his majority.
Apart from Thackeray, Council Deputy Chairperson Neelam Gorhe (Shiv Sena), four candidates of the Bharatiya Janata Party -- Ranjitsinh Mohite Patil, Gopichand Padalkar, Praveen Datke and Ramesh Karad; Nationalist Congress Party's Shashikant Shinde and Amol Mitkari and Congress's Rajesh Rathod were in the fray for the nine seats, which fell vacant on April 24.
The chief minister, who is currently not a member of either of the Houses of the state Legislature, submitted his nomination papers to the election officer in Mumbai.
Chief Minister designate Ashok Chavan on Friday met Governor S C Jamir and staked claim to form the next government, 15 days after the Congress-NCP haggled over the portfolio issue.
Making the announcement, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said this was the "biggest" loan waiver scheme in the country.
Congress leaders A R Antulay, Vasantdada Patil, Shivajirao Nilangekar-Patil, Shankarrao Chavan, Sushilkumar Shinde and Prithviraj Chavan are among the leaders who were not members of any of the state legislature Houses when they occupied the top post.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on the home ministry's protection largesse.
The MLAs of the three ruling parties and the BJP have reached Mumbai ahead of the elections.
After an acrimonious split, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena are together again with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday announcing that Sena will be joining his government on Friday 'in keeping with the mandate' and will get 12 ministerial berths but there will be no deputy CM.
For the first time, non-upper castes are in a majority in the board, as the party continues with its outreach to traditionally weaker and backward sections of society.
