Sharad Pawar-Ajit Pawar, Bal Thackeray-Raj Thackeray, Gopinath Munde-Dhananjay Munde. Troubled uncle-nephew relationships have rocked the boat of more than one party trying to steer its way through Maharashtra's troubled political waters with the crisis in the Nationalist Congress Party only the latest in the series.
Expect plenty of fireworks on May 1 this year as the state celebrates 50 years of its formation.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday asked party workers to remove the 'tail' from mobile service provider Airtel for failing to launch announcements in Marathi.
Raj said," If the Prime Minister can rake up the issue of ban on turbans for the Sikhs in France when the French President came to India, if Karunanidhi could take up the issue of problems of Tamils in Malaysia with the Malaysian government, if the Hindi channels in Mumbai spew venom against Maharashtra while supporting the people from UP and Bihar, then how come I am dubbed as a goonda when I speak about the self-respect of the state ?".
'The impression that Uddhav saheb is naram (soft or not-so-aggressive), anukool (congenial), manmilau (amiable) is true.' 'But he is Balasaheb's son. So, aggression comes naturally to him.'
The toll waiver will be in force from midnight on Monday, he said.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday declared that he was not afraid of fighting for the sons-of-the-soil issue and was ready to do anything for the Marathi manoos.Thackeray also appealed them not to allow migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to settle down in Amravati as it is not in larger interest of the state."People from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are trying to settle in all parts of Maharashtra. It is dangerous," he said.
After his campaign against North Indians, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray on Monday asked English medium schools in the state to make Marathi a compulsory subject from first standard and shopowners to put up nameplates in Marathi in a month. The MNS chief also reiterated his appeal to Marathi officials to stop abetting 'outsiders' by issuing bogus domicile certificates and driving licences, saying these acts were rendering the state bankrupt.
Impressed by the Tamil Conference held recently, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday lamented that such efforts were not being made in Maharashtra for Marathi language.
Chief of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Raj Thackeray, along with the 13 party members who were elected to the Maharashtra legislative assembly, plays floral tribute at the Hutatma Chowk in Churchgate on Monday.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Tuedsay faced more flak across the political spectrum for blaming 'migrants' for malaria outbreak in Mumbai with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying the remarks were uncalled for and deplorable.
Two days after the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray announced a state-wide 'rasta roko' on Wednesday to protest against toll collection in the state, police on Tuesday served a notice to him asking the leader to refrain from any activity that would create law and order problems.
Two days after MNS chief Raj Thackeray declared his support to the Modi government over eviction of Bangladeshi and Pakistani infiltrators, the Shiv Sena said in its mouthpiece that Muslim infiltrators from these countries should be thrown out. It also took a dig at Raj over his ideological shift towards Hindutva.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday held a meeting of his party leaders from Mumbai, Thane, Nashik and other divisions regarding his visit to Ayodhya in June.
When Aamir Khan parties, he makes sure the entire film industry parties with him!
"My brand of politics will work", thundered Raj Thackeray after his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena romped home with an impressive 13 seats in the first Assembly polls the party contested.
The Shiv Sena on Wednesday said the events of the last two weeks, culminating in the arrest of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, are part of a political experiment in Maharashtra which will not succeed.
Bihar Diwas celebration is a socio-cultural event, it has nothing to do with politics, says Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. M I Khan reports
"Balasaheb sent Raj a bouquet of flowers and they spoke on the phone this morning, as they do every year on Raj'sbirthday," a source close to Raj said in Mumbai.
The Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court on Thursday, stayed the arrest warrant of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray till February 17, in connection with stone pelting by the party activists on a bus near Aurangabad in 2008.
Fearing reprisals against Maharashtrians residing in northern states due to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray's recent comments against Biharis, Republican Party of India-Athvale leader Ramdas Athavale on Monday appealed to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to protect Marathis in his state.
The Supreme Court on Friday shifted to a Delhi court seven cases registered against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray in Jharkhand and Bihar for promoting animosity among citizens by his alleged hate speeches against north Indians.
The Supreme Court on Friday shifted to a Delhi court seven cases registered against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray in Jharkhand and Bihar for promoting animosity among citizens by his alleged hate speeches against north Indians.
Beleaguered Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde resigned from the cabinet on Tuesday, days after his close aide Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the murder of a village sarpanch and three months after the new Mahayuti government assumed office.
A day after Maharahstra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray warned that arrogant auto rickshaw unions would attract public ire, reports of attacks on auto rickshaws have been surfacing from different parts of Mumbai.
After attacking migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray has now trained his guns at a growing number of North Indian students coming to Pune for higher education. "Pune, with its large number of reputed universities and institutions imparting higher education is attracting students from these states who are being given admissions on massive donations leaving in the lurch the deserving Marathi aspirants," he said.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday said if north Indian-origin leaders in Mumbai did not stop making inflammatory statements, there would be "riots".
After the anti-halal meat drive, right-wing outfits led by Bajrang Dal and Sriram Sena have now called for a ban on loudspeakers in mosques.
Hundreds of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena supporters were expected to gather outside the court to see their leader Raj Thackeray who will appear before it on Wednesday afternoon. The police resorted to cane charge on MNS supporters who were present in large numbers outside the court despite heavy police presence.
All mosques have taken permission for the use of loudspeakers, Raut said.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil was understood to have faced criticism from some of his ministerial colleagues at a cabinet meeting in Mumbai on Tuesday night for his handling of the issue of Raj Thackeray's attack on North Indians, but he denied having threatened to quit. "The objective behind spreading such reports is to harm the party interests," Patil said in a veiled reference to senior NCP ministers with whom he does not get along well.
The National People's Party, which rules Meghalaya, is another national party which received no donations through electoral bonds.
A 19-year-old boy from neighbouring Thane district, detained on suspicion of posting an "objectionable" Facebook comment against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, was let off after police found that a "fake account" was used by some persons in the teenager's name.
Former MLA Harshwardhan Sapkal has been appointed as the new president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), tasked with reviving the party in the state after its crushing defeat in the last year's assembly polls. Sapkal, a veteran politician, replaces Nana Patole, who held the position since 2021. The Congress aims to rebuild its base and prepare for upcoming local body polls, including those in Mumbai, Pune, Thane, and Nagpur. The party will also need to work with its allies, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), to strengthen the opposition against the ruling BJP-led alliance.
An auto rickshaw driver was arrested on Saturday for allegedly making a fake call claiming that three explosives had been planted to eliminate Maharashra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday during his rally, sending the security agencies into a tizzy, the police said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has rejected the demand for booking MNS leader Raj Thackeray, whose party has targeted North Indians in the state, under the National Security Act saying he did not agree with this.
Singling out trade unionist Sharad Rao whose Mumbai Auto-rickshawmen's Union has threatened to go on indefinite strike next month, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday said his party would step in to counter the inconvenience caused to commuters due to their "arrogant" behaviour.
Heavy police security was deployed in Mumbai in the wake of Thackeray's call for "silencing" loudspeakers atop mosques.
The police said the miscreants were "unidentified people" and at this point and there were no clarity on who was behind it.
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant urgent hearing to a petition seeking direction to the Election Commission, to derecognise Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navanirman Sena, for his controversial remarks against north Indians. A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said that the petition would be heard on February 22, as fixed by the registry. The petition had been filed by advocate Arvind Shukla.
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