Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray president and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has been sent an invitation by speed post for the Ram temple consecration ceremony to be held in Ayodhya on Monday.
Springing a surprise, Pawar on Tuesday said he was stepping down as the chief of the Nationalist Congress Party
In his weekly column Rokhthok in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana, Raut also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah should not sow 'seeds of hatred and divisiveness'.
Hitting out at Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar for indulging in a blame game over the MVA's defeat in the state assembly, Raut said those who don't believe in consensus and compromise have no right to be in an alliance.
"It is just that Fadnavis and I have swapped our chairs. Only Ajit Pawar's chair is fixed," said Shinde, who was the CM before the assembly elections with Fadnavis and Pawar as his deputies then.
Sunil Raut said Shiv Sena workers will stage protests against the arrest of Sanjay Raut.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday termed the criticism of Uddhav Thackeray in Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar's autobiography "wrong information" and downplayed it by claiming books are read for two days and then put into libraries.
Raut's statement comes a day after Pawar, during an interview with a media house in Pune, responded to a query on his chief ministerial ambitions by saying "yes, I would 100 per cent like to be (CM)".
MNS leader Abhijit Panse on Thursday met Raut, leading to speculation about a possible truce between the estranged Thackeray cousins against the backdrop of the changed political situation in Maharashtra.
An Indian delegation led by the BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad will tour key European capitals to expose Pakistan's role in cross-border terrorism and State-sponsored extremism.
A ruling Shiv Sena leader has predicted a "major political earthquake" in Maharashtra on January 23, the birth anniversary of Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray, claiming that 10 to 15 MLAs from the opposition Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) will switch sides and join the party led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The prediction comes amidst reports of discontent within the ruling coalition in the state.
I think Sharad Pawar invited Ajit Pawar for the INDIA bloc meeting, Raut said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday asserted that Marathi is the language of Mumbai and Maharashtra and anyone who lives here should learn and speak it. Fadnavis was speaking in the state assembly after Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Bhaskar Jadhav said the government should clarify its stand on senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi's comments that a person coming to Mumbai may not necessarily learn Marathi.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has alleged that leaders of the opposition Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) were involved in a "conspiracy" against his cabinet colleague Jaykumar Gore in a case involving a woman. Fadnavis said there was proof of communication between NCP leaders Supriya Sule and Rohit Pawar, and one of the accused in the case where three persons, including the woman, have been arrested for trying to extort money from Gore. He also pointed to Gore's acquittal more than five years ago in a case involving the woman's allegations of harassment. Fadnavis emphasized that opposition and ruling parties are political opponents and not enemies. The CM also criticized the behavior of some opposition members in the state assembly, accusing them of insulting the House and pressuring ministers.
Ajit Pawar had also slammed Raut without taking the latter's name and said spokespersons of other parties were behaving like NCP's spokespersons.
Senior RSS leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi's call to drop the Aurangzeb tomb controversy challenges decades of communal rhetoric in Maharashtra, igniting hopes for unity and a balanced historical narrative.
BJP's survey predicted that their candidate would lose the bypoll by at least 45,000 votes, Raut claimed.
Raut said that the victory of the Congress in Karnataka has opened a door for the party in the whole country and the election results show that dictatorship has been defeated.
A special court in Mumbai on Monday extended the judicial custody of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut till September 5 in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the redevelopment of a Mumbai 'chawl'.
He, however, also said that his party was in an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party for long despite their differences, and it worked smoothly.
The Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Saturday said Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar not favouring formation of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe allegations against the Adani group will not lead to cracks in opposition unity.
A few days later, three members of the Bishnoi gang delivered a letter threatening Bollywood actor Salman Khan and his father Salim Khan, police had said.
Sharad Pawar in Amravati said, "Today, we are a part of Maha Vikas Aghadi, and we are willing to work together. But the desire alone is not always enough. The allotment of seats, whether there are any problems or not, has not been discussed yet. So how can I tell you about this?"
The trigger was Raut spitting on the ground in front of cameras during a press conference on Friday when reporters sought his reaction to Shiv Sena MP Shrikant' Shinde's jibe targetting Uddhav Thackeray.
MNS leader Raj Thackeray has sparked speculation about a potential political rapprochement with his estranged cousin and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, suggesting their past differences are "trivial" and uniting for the greater good of "Marathi manoos" is not a difficult task. The comments come amid a political landscape in Maharashtra where the Shiv Sena (UBT) is facing a tough battle to retain its stronghold in Mumbai in upcoming civic polls, with competition from the Shinde-led Sena and BJP.
The final show of Lakme Fashion Week's 25th anniversary was a grand gala.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents have decided to house all its newly-elected MLAs together in Mumbai after the Maharashtra election results, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said on Friday, a move aimed at preventing poaching ahead of government formation. Raut said MVA leaders met on Thursday and carried out an assessment of every seat. The counting of votes for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls will take place on Saturday. Raut expressed confidence that the MVA would win 160 seats in the elections. The term of the Maharashtra legislative assembly ends on November 26. The opposition fears that President's rule could be imposed in the state if a new government is not formed till then.
Raut said industrialists should be supported, but not corruption.
"Gandhi's disqualification is illegal and the case is also bogus. I am sure that a higher court in Gujarat will do justice to Gandhi," said Raut, whose party is an ally of the Congress in Maharashtra.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Varsha Raut, wife of arrested Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, for questioning in a money laundering investigation linked to alleged irregularities in the redevelopment of a local 'chawl' and linked transactions, officials said on Thursday.
Researcher Rona Wilson and activist Sudhir Dhawale, accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, were released on bail from a Navi Mumbai prison on Friday, more than six years after they were arrested. The duo walked out of the Taloja jail after completing bail formalities before the special NIA court, over a fortnight after they were granted bail by the Bombay High Court. The HC granted bail to Wilson and Dhawale on January 8, noting they had been in jail since 2018 and the trial in the case, in which anti-terror act UAPA has been invoked, was yet to start. Apart from Dhawale and Wilson, 14 other activists and academicians were arrested in the case. Eight of them have been granted bail till now, with one, Mahesh Raut, still in jail as the appeal filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against his bail is pending before the Supreme Court. Jesuit priest and activist Stan Swamy, one of the accused, died in 2021 while lodged in judicial custody. The case pertains to provocative speeches allegedly delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, triggering violence at Koregaon-Bhima, a village outside Pune city, the next day. The Pune police had claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists. The NIA later took over the probe.
A few days back, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation issued a notice to Khan, citing various lapses and lack of the building plan approval (for his house), sources said.
The Maharashtra government, led by a coalition of the BJP and Shiv Sena, has admitted that it cannot increase the monthly financial aid under the Ladki Bahin Yojana to Rs 2,100, as promised during the 2024 assembly polls. The government cites severe financial stress as the reason. Social Justice Minister Sanjay Shirsat, a Shiv Sena leader, has said that the scheme will continue with the existing amount of Rs 1,500, but the increase is not feasible at this time. The minister also accused the Finance Department, led by Ajit Pawar, of diverting funds from his department without his knowledge. He called for a law to ensure that the social justice and tribal affairs departments receive their allocated funds. The statement comes as an embarrassment for the Mahayuti government, which had heavily campaigned on the promise of increasing the Ladki Bahin Yojana aid.
It is our job to ensure security, law and order in the state, Shinde said.
Criminals and terrorists have no caste or religion, he said, adding that those who have suspicions on such police action can always approach courts for remedial measures.
NCP supremo Sharad Pawar had asked Rahul Gandhi to tone down the criticism of Savarkar and reminded the Congress leader that the real fight of the opposition parties was with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP.
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Raut also hit out at Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, saying the state appeared weak to counter such attacks.
'The attack on Saif Ali Khan yet again raises questions on Mumbai Police & the Home Minister'
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)'s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut walked out of Mumbai's Arthur Road jail on Wednesday evening, hours after a special court granted him bail in a money laundering case.
