The Mumbai police have registered an FIR against stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra for allegedly making defamatory remarks against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during a show. The police also registered a case against nearly 40 Shiv Sena workers for allegedly vandalizing the studio where Kamra's show was filmed. The incident took place after a video went viral showing Kamra allegedly using defamatory words against Shinde. Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel lodged a police complaint, leading to the FIR against Kamra under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including for statements conducing to public mischief and defamation. Meanwhile, the Khar police registered an FIR against 19 Shiv Sena functionaries, including Rahul Kanal (Yuva Sena), Vibhag Pramukh Kunal Sarmarkar and Akshay Panvelkar, for vandalizing the studio and the hotel premises. The incident has sparked controversy, with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray condemning the vandalism and questioning the state's law and order situation.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal for 'one nation, one Election' as recommended by the Kovind panel, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.
Within 10 days of being elected to the state assembly, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has already begun to make its presence felt even before entering the House.
Nationalist Congress Party chief and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's claims about not being acquainted with DB Realty and Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa are false, according to a senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader from Maharashtra.
Now, irrespective of who supports whom, only a floor test in the assembly will decide if this government can continue or not.
'It showed me that this man had courage. He makes his own decisions, but he also trusted me enough in that moment to walk with me into the crowd,' Modi tells Lex Fridman on his podcast.
Defying predictions of his political eclipse, Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar has not only consolidated his position in the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti, but also fortified his place in Maharashtra politics by becoming deputy chief minister for the sixth time.
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has asked the Maharashtra Legislature Secretary to hold a floor test of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government at 11 am on Thursday.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said he will extend all possible cooperation to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and will work as a team. Addressing a news conference, Shinde described his tenure as chief minister as very successful and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for their support. He also said the Mahayuti government secured a majority in the recent elections. Shinde said that when he was the chief minister, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar extended cooperation to him and they worked as a team. He added that he will now be "dedicated to the common man" 24 x 7. In the first cabinet meeting after the swearing-in ceremony, officials were instructed to disburse the next instalment of the Ladki Bahin scheme to beneficiaries. Shinde also rubbished all talk of him being upset over not being made chief minister. He pointed out that 39 Shiv Sena MLAs were with him when he led a revolt in 2022, and today, the party has 57 MLAs, which he asserted was a seal of approval from the people. Shinde was given a rousing welcome at Anand Ashram, the headquarters of the Shiv Sena in Thane, following the swearing-in ceremony. Several hundred party workers thronged the area carrying placards and shouting slogans in his praise.
A broad consensus has emerged among top Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and other Mahayuti allies to drop ministers facing serious allegations of corruption in the new government, a Shiv Sena leader said on Tuesday.
Accordingly, the word "Bombay" in the nomenclature of 84 Acts will be replaced by the word "Maharashtra". Also, references to "Bombay" or "Greater Bombay" appearing in such Acts or in any other state enactment, rules, regulations, bye-laws, schemes, notifications, orders or any other instrument will be replaced with "Mumbai" or "Brihanmumbai".
The last time when more than 200 MLAs were part of the state government was in 1972, but at that time all the 222 legislators belonged to Congress. Also, the strength of the House was 270 at that time, a former state legislature official said on Monday citing data.
The Maharashtra unit of the Congress on Thursday suspended 16 rebels, including a minister and a Member of Legislative Assembly, for six years from the party, for contesting against official candidates in the assembly elections.State Finance Minister Sunil Deshmukh, who is contesting against Rajendra Shekhawat, son of President Pratibha Patil from Amravati, and sitting MLA Rajiv Rajale, who is in fray as a rebel from Shegaon in Ahmednagart district, were among the 16 rebels.
Two candidates each of the ruling coalition allies Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena and four nominees of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday night won elections to the Maharashtra legislative council, an official said.
Candidates from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) opposition alliance in Maharashtra have decided to seek verification of the EVM-Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) units in their segments, following their defeat in the recent assembly polls. The move comes after several losing candidates, including those from the Shiv Sena (UBT), alleged that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) might have been tampered with. The MVA, comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP, lost to the Mahayuti coalition, which includes the Shiv Sena, BJP, and NCP. The MVA candidates are seeking verification based on a Supreme Court ruling that allows for checking the burnt memory/microcontroller in 5% of EVMs after the announcement of results.
Chandole was arrested by the ED on late Wednesday night under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a case against a security service provider company and others.
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.
Targeting Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday, Bharatiya Janata Party minister Nitesh Rane said as per the Supreme Court's past decisions, if a person is facing allegations of rape, he must be arrested.
If Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil drops a hint of supporting or opposing a particular coalition on the eve of polling on November 20, things may change overnight.
A first information report (FIR) was registered in Mumbai on Friday against Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MP Arvind Sawant for referring to Shaina N C, an assembly elections candidate of the rival Shiv Sena, as 'imported maal'.
Bhujbal stridently opposed Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange's demand for Maratha quota from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) share.
Proceedings of Maharashtra legislative assembly continued to be stalled for the second day today over Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's remarks on loadshedding and drought, with Opposition's move to bring a censure motion which was rejected by the Speaker.
He did not elaborate on where he was for two days.
In signs of friction in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) over the chief minister's post, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on Friday said ally Congress should understand his party's contribution in increasing the grand old party's tally in the Lok Sabha polls.
The 10-day-old BJP-led Mahayuti alliance ministry in Maharashtra was expanded on Sunday, with 39 ministers being sworn in, taking its strength to 42. The BJP secured 19 ministerial berths, followed by 11 for the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 9 for Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. Governor P C Radhakrishnan administered the oath to the new ministers at the ceremony held in Nagpur. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were present.
The Supreme Court on Monday sought the responses of Ajit Pawar and his 40 MLAs on a plea moved by the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party challenging Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar's decision declaring the group led by the deputy chief minister as the real NCP.
Maharashtra's State Election Commissioner Nand Lal has been released from the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai after being sentenced to two-day prison term for breach of privilege by the state Assembly.
Devendra Fadnavis will lead the new Mahayuti coalition government in Maharashtra, with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar serving as deputy chief ministers. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for Thursday evening at Azad Maidan ground in south Mumbai and will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several Union ministers. The Mahayuti coalition won the recent assembly elections by a landslide, securing 230 out of 288 seats.
The Congress leadership has given President Pratibha Patil's son Rajendra Shehawat for the Amravati Assembly seat in Maharashtra.
Two Maharashtra members of Legislative Assembly accused of assaulting a police officer will have to spend at least three days in jail after a court on Friday reserved its order on their bail plea till Monday even as both Houses of legislature were adjourned amid ruckus over their suspension and conduct of police in the episode.
The court indicated that it was not inclined to allow the amendment and sought to know from Malik's lawyers if they wish to withdraw the petition and file a fresh plea.
Fadnavis (52), in an explanatory statement submitted to civil judge VM Deshmukh on April 15, said there was no intention to deliberately conceal information about the two "insignificant" complaint cases.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Haribhau Bagade was on Wednesday unanimously elected as the Speaker of the Maharashtra assembly.
The 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly constitutes the electoral college Rajya Sabha elections, scheduled on June 10, and a candidate needs 42 votes to win a seat.
Voters, it is said, get the government they deserve. We will soon see what voters in Maharashtra choose. Till then, a sense of helplessness and scepticism hangs in the air, notes Ramesh Menon.
"What would be prohibited is the creation of any fanfare and holding of ceremonies with the involvement of political functionaries," it observed.
An MLA from Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena faction and a legislator of the Nationalist Congress Party virtually came to blows in the Vidhan Bhavan premises in Mumbai on Wednesday after shouting slogans against each other.
Their lists show that a significant number of contenders are closely related to the current ministers, legislators or MPs, including their sons or daughters, wives and brothers or sisters.
The former Maharashtra minister and staunch Congressman was 85.
The timeline of the Shiv Sena-centric political crisis in Maharashtra.
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