The PM's choice of ministers is interesting, to say the least, says Jyoti Punwani.
Breaking his silence over ongoing probe by the anti-corruption bureau against his party colleague Chhagan Bhujbal, NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday came out in strong defence of the former deputy chief minister.
The return of a BJP-Sena regime after a love-hate war and gap of 15 years, demise of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde, collapse of Congress-Nationalisy Congress Party alliance and rising cases of farmers' suicides dominated Maharashtra's political landscape in 2014.
"This is vendetta politics by BJP. There was no need to arrest him as he was cooperating with the ED," NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said.
Wielding a broom, the prime minister took part in the drive along with fitness influencer Ankit Baiyanpuriya.
Building on their just-revived bonhomie, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday invited Anna Hazare to the state secretariat
ED officials said the nine premises covered under the action included properties and offices belonging to Bhujbal, son Pankaj, nephew and former member of Parliament Samir and a few others.
Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Tuesday alleged that he was being targeted by the Bharatiya Janata Party government as he belonged to a backward community and because some people were trying to settle scores with him.
The ED had conducted searches on at least nine premises, including properties and offices, belonging to the senior Bhujbal, Pankaj, nephew Samir and few others.
According to sources, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has not appreciated senior leader and one of her main confidantes A K Antony stating publicly that there is a perception that the Congress lost because it was seen to be too much pro-Muslim and this led to a Hindu consolidation in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said "some people" will never find the time appropriate for withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act from the state as they have a "liking" for these laws. "It is an ongoing discussion with the Centre. First, it was with the United Progressive Alliance now the National Democratic Alliance government.
Rediff.com presents few other instances when the Sena created a furore through its protests.
A day after NCP leader Samir Bhujbal was arrested by the ED, party chief Sharad Pawar said he has not seen such "blatant misuse of power" in last 40 years.
The Shiv Sena leader also said that he went out to watch 'Badrinath ki Dulhaniya' - on Thursday night to "relax" himself after the incident.
Saying that prison inmates do not cease to be human beings and can't be deprived of the fundamental right to life, the Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the Maharashtra government to transfer alleged Maoist leader Nirmala Uppuganti from jail to a hospice for palliative care on account of her terminal cancer.
Amid a controversy over a Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party leader describing tennis star Sania Mirza as a "non-local" and "daughter-in-law" of Pakistan, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Thursday said the tennis ace is a pride and brand ambassador of India.
The government on Thursday said it will respond on the issue of Shiv Sena MPs force-feeding a fasting Muslim after ascertaining full facts by Friday.
The arrest of Chhagan Bhujbal by the ED rocked Maharashtra Legislature with protesting Opposition alleging it was "vendetta politics".
Gaikwad was travelling from Pune to New Delhi when the scuffle broke out over the sitting arrangement.
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday called the upcoming polls a 'dharma yudh' of truth versus bad and corruption as he launched a road show in the national capital ahead of filing his nomination papers.
'Do we not all exhibit a sense of entitlement every day,' asks Savera R Someshwar.
The politician who has come a long way, from being a one-time vegetable vendor to one of the most powerful politicians in the state, is in big trouble today, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
Chhagan Bhujbal, son of a vegetable vendor, rose through the political ranks by hard work, determination and political opportunism. Now past ghosts have come to haunt him.
Elections for 18 of these 24 seats were deferred due to the coronavirus pandemic. Of these 18 seats, four each are from Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, three each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, x'two from Jharkhand, and one each from Manipur and Meghalaya.
The police began serving notices to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena office bearers in Mumbai on Monday, warning them against committing cognisable offences, after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena President Raj Thackeray called for a statewide road blockade agitation against toll collection.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's spin doctors are on an overdrive these days to project him as a "tough talking" leader following a spate of critical media reports about his sudden silence on key issues, says rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal.
"For the Lok Sabha elections, we are making meticulous planning on all fronts including electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT)," he said.
The past three weeks have demonstrated that the Congress is still to recover from the drubbing it received in Lok Sabha elections, says Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal
The voting will be held on November 30, December 7, 12, 16 and 20.
The main streets of Ayodhya wear a scintillating look with illuminated lamps and special decorations.
Voting is being held in the politically sensitive Kairana in Uttar Pradesh, Palghar and Bhandara-Gondiya and Nagaland Lok Sabha seats.
'A senior US diplomat last week asked me when things will go back to normal. I had to tell her that if normalcy meant getting back these perks, it is not going to happen for a very long time, if ever at all,' says Mohan Guruswamy. 'For the Indian public now is outraged that US diplomats have enjoyed all these winking at the rulebook.'
As the mid-day meal school tragedy in Bihar fuelled food safety concerns, more cases of children falling ill after consuming free food or contaminated water have come to light from Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Delhi and Maharasthra.
'The EC is a sacred institution.' 'In the last few years, more than once, we have found the EC bending over backwards to accommodate the government.'
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