Ahead of assembly polls, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasahev Thackeray president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday declared he will support any chief ministerial candidate announced by allies Congress or Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar to 'save' Maharashtra, repeating a demand for the second time since August.
Freedom of speech is subject to reasonable restrictions and it does not include the freedom to make defamatory statements against any person or the Indian Army, the Allahabad High Court has said, rejecting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea to quash summons against him for alleged derogatory remarks during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in 2022.
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.
A Bharatiya Janata Party office-bearer from Shirur in Maharashtra's Pune district has sought the removal of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and his Nationalist Congress Party from the ruling alliance, which also consists of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut also said "Pawar will attend the meeting in Bengaluru tomorrow morning."
Amid strains in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi alliance over Rahul Gandhi's strident criticism of V D Savarkar, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has stepped in to play the peacemaker by conveying the Shiv Sena's concerns on the issue to the Congress leadership.
As the impasse over some seats for Maharashtra polls continues in the Maha Vikas Aghadi, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday said if anyone needs the slogan 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas', it has to be the opposition bloc.
The Maharashtra State Commission for Women has directed Mumbai Police to take immediate action on a complaint filed by actor Prajakta Mali against MLA Suresh Dhas for making inappropriate remarks about her. Mali alleged that Dhas' comments impacted her personal and social life and led to defamatory content being circulated online. The commission has instructed the Mumbai Police Commissioner to submit a factual report on the matter. Dhas has stated that he is ready to face any consequences regarding the issue and has emphasized the need to focus on the Santosh Deshmukh murder case and crime in Beed district.
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.
He clarified that Siddique was provided a non-categorised security and was allotted three police constables.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar head Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday separately visited the memorial of the state's first chief minister Y B Chavan in Karad and paid tributes to him on his death anniversary.
Siddique was unconscious when he was brought to the Lilavati Hospital on Saturday night after being shot at.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said the names of the probable ministers from the Bharatiya Janata Party in his cabinet have been shortlisted and the final decision will be taken by the party's central leadership.
Ahead of being sworn in as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra third time in four years, Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar had called a meeting of party leaders and MLAs at his official residence in Mumbai.
The indecision of the then Maharashtra governor on the state government's recommendation to appoint 12 persons as MLCs is 'quite disturbing', the Bombay high court has said.
Malik used to criticise the BJP-led Central government and the then opposition leader in Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, when he was a cabinet minister in the erstwhile MVA government led by Uddhav Thackeray.
In a veiled attack on CM Shinde, Thackeray said the 'Kansa Mama', a reference to a character in Mahabharat, is busy getting rakhis tied on his wrists and asked when he will get justice for the nieces.
Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly polls, Union home minister Amit Shah has met Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as well as Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, has been arrested by US law enforcement authorities in Iowa. He is wanted in connection with several criminal cases in India, including the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique and the firing outside actor Salman Khan's Mumbai home.
Is a sulking Eknath Shinde on the way out as Shiv Sena chief?
Speculation is rife that Sunetra Pawar could be fielded by the Ajit Pawar-led NCP in the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency against Sule, who is Ajit's cousin and the daughter of party founder Sharad Pawar.
Sharad Pawar said everyone has a place in the "house".
The party said no Congress worker would even entertain the remotest thought of insulting the Pope, whom Christians around the world consider as God-like.
The Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party group under Sharad Pawar on Friday demanded the resignation of Maharashtra Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the murder of Sena-UBT leader Abhishek Ghosalkar during a 'Facebook Live'.
Pratibha Pawar, wife of NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, was allegedly stopped from entering the premises of Baramati Hi-Tech Textiles Park in Pune district on Sunday for half an hour. This was informed by the office of Baramati MP Supriya Sule. Notably, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's wife and Rajya Sabha member Sunetra Pawar is the chairperson of the Baramati Hi-Tech Textiles Park. A video shared by Supriya Sule's office shows female aides of Pratibha Pawar and Sule's daughter Revti Sule asking a security guard at the Park to open the gate as they wanted to do some purchasing. The guard told them he was instructed by one Anil Wagh to not open the gate. A male aide accompanying Pratibha Pawar and Revti Sule confirmed to PTI that they were not allowed to enter the premises for at least 30 minutes. When contacted, Textile Park chief manager Anil Wagh said he was not aware that Pratibha Pawar was supposed to visit the premises. He claimed he instructed security personnel to not allow any political rally inside. When he was told that Pratibha Pawar had arrived, he immediately asked security guards to open the gate and allow them inside. According to Wagh, Pratibha Pawar and Revti Sule visited some companies on the premises of the Park and interacted with women workers. Baramati Hi-Tech Textile Park is one of 26 parks approved by the Union Ministry of Textiles. Under the chairmanship of Sunetra Pawar, this park was set up in the year 2008 over an area of 65 acres in Baramati in Pune district. A fierce electoral battle is playing out in the Baramati assembly constituency between Ajit Pawar, who revolted against uncle Sharad Pawar last year, and his nephew Yugendra Pawar.
In a press release, BJP Nagpur Rural president Sudhakar Kohale said his party had won 238 sarpanch posts in 361 gram panchayats, while the Congress said the Maha Vikas Aghadi had been victorious on 223 posts.
The BJP and Shiv Sena, which along with Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party comprise the ruling Mahayuti, for some time now have been courting Thackeray, who founded the MNS in 2006.
Shubham Lonkar, the mastermind and wanted accused in Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique's murder had allegedly planned the murder of Aftab Poonawala, the accused arrested in the gruesome Shraddha Walker murder case, sources said.
Fadnavis said that there was nothing wrong with the slogan given by Yogi Adityanath and stated that it had been the history of the country.
Shivkumar Gautam, the alleged main shooter in the Baba Siddique murder case, remained at the spot for 20 minutes after the Nationalist Congress Party leader was gunned down on October 12, an official said on Thursday.
The Centre on Wednesday accorded Z plus -- the highest category of armed VIP security cover -- to Pawar, official sources had said.
Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde has denied any involvement in the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, saying he is being targeted by the opposition and some leaders within the ruling alliance. He compared himself to Arjun from the Mahabharata, claiming he cannot be cornered like Abhimanyu. Munde also criticized the media trial and social media trolling he has faced since the murder.
Walmik Karad, an aide to Maharashtra Nationalist Congress Party minister Dhananjay Munde, was on Tuesday charged under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and remanded to 14 days of judicial custody in an extortion case allegedly linked to the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh.
'There is no grain of truth in the speculation that the Congress is thinking of contesting the Lok Sabha elections without taking Sharad Pawar along'
In a breakthrough in Nationalist Congress Party politician Baba Siddique's murder case, police arrested a Haryana native, suspected to be an important link between a shooter and the mastermind of the conspiracy, an official said on Wednesday.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said he didn't harbour aspirations to become Maharashtra CM, a remark coming against the backdrop of Maha Vikas Aghadi allies' reluctance to face assembly polls with a CM face.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi on Sunday released its manifesto for the Maharashtra assembly polls, promising free cervical cancer vaccines for girls aged 9 to 16 and and two optional leave days for women employees during menstruation.
After the joint opposition protests at Jantar Mantar, Gandhi drove with Pawar to the latter's 6, Janpath residence.
Fadnavis also conceded that issues of coordination exist with the Shiv Sena and the NCP.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday promised to enact an-anti conversion law with stringent provisions in Maharashtra, and also assured a skill census for training as per industry needs as well as free ration to low-income families.
