Out of the 24 NCP MLAs who attended the session, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, cabinet ministers Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode, Dhananjay Munde, Anil Patil and Dharmarao Atram were seated on the ruling side.
'If the Pawars are so powerful, then why are they scared of me?'
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday met Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray at the latter's residence in Bandra in suburban Mumbai.
'We don't believe in the BJP. But the Congress has no main leader who is credible.'
However, party MP and chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut claimed of the 18 MPs in the Lok Sabha, 15 attended the meeting held at 'Matoshree', the private residence of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in suburban Bandra. He did not provide details.
Chandrakant Patil also took a swipe at Uddhav for accusing Eknath Shinde of stealing the legacy of Bal Thackeray.
Pawar said, "I will meet PM Narendra Modi on July 18. During the meeting, I will take up various issues related to farmers with him. (NCP leader) Praful Patel and I will attend the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting."
Four more days of imprisonment would be added to actor Sanjay Dutt's prison term.
Uddhavji had said he trusts his MLAs and was confident they will not take such an extreme step, said Ajit Pawar.
Bawankule's remark gave ammunition to the opposition parties, with the Nationalist Congress Party saying that it showed the Bharatiya Janata Party had no value for current CM Shinde.
Police said the four were part of a group of six people who planned the incident.
Press Council of India chief Markandey Katju, who is spearheading efforts to seek pardon for 1993 Mumbai blast convicts Sanjay Dutt and Zaibunnisa Kazi, has sought suspension of their jail sentences.
Raut said industrialists should be supported, but not corruption.
The Shiv Sena Bhavan is controlled by 'Shivai Seva Trust'. Its founding trustees include late Bal Thackeray and his wife late Meena Thackeray. Many of the founding trustees are not alive now.
Unofficially though, it is claimed that Ajit Pawar has the support of 29 MLAs, and the number could add up within two days.
Raut also hit out at Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, saying the state appeared weak to counter such attacks.
'It's dull because this time the election is spread over such a long period.'
Sanjay Raut said Shinde is not in Mumbai, but a communication has been established with him.
In a setback to the Congress ahead of Lok Sabha elections, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Monday quit the Congress, amid speculation that he is veering towards the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Raut also refuted the speculation of NCP leader Ajit Pawar joining the BJP.
Addressing his party workers in Nagpur, the home turf of Fadnavis, Thackeray on Monday said the BJP leader, his former ally, was a taint on the city as he had aligned with a section of the Nationalist Congress Party despite asserting that he would never do so.
Sanjay Dutt is a strong man and he has accepted the punishment awarded by the Supreme Court, the actor's lawyer Satishmane Shinde said on Thursday. Maneshinde, who represented Dutt at the trial in the 1993 blasts case in the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act court, said he had spoken to the actor, who will have to undergo three-and-a-half more years in jail.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena on Wednesday nominated Rajan Vichare as the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha, replacing MP Bhavana Gawali, party leader Sanjay Raut said.
Raut said that he did not need anyone's 'permission' regarding the issue.
The execution of the order dated December 21 stands stayed till the next date of hearing.
Even though MLAs are required to show their ballot to respective party whips before casting their vote, all parties have ensured their MLAs are housed in five star hotels closer to the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha where voting will take place on June 10.
'When I felt that the party is drifting away from Hindutva, I tried to speak to Uddhavji. But nobody was ready to listen.'
Thackeray's statement comes in the backdrop of rebel group leader Eknath Shinde daring the party to disclose the names of some of the MLAs camping in Guwahati who were reportedly in touch with the party leadership.
Marking a vertical split in the Nationalist Congress Party, its senior leader Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government as deputy chief minister on Sunday.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday appointed a one-member committee to probe the deaths of 14 persons in the Maharashtra Bhushan award event held in Kharghar in Navi Mumbai on April 16.
I think Sharad Pawar invited Ajit Pawar for the INDIA bloc meeting, Raut said.
More than 100 women were among the protesters who tried to block a road in Barsu and Solgaon areas of the district, around 400km from Mumbai, by lying on the ground to stop government vehicles from entering the proposed site of the refinery, he said.
'How long will you hide in Guwahati, you will have to come to chowpatty,' the Sena MP tweeted in Hindi along with a photo of the state Assembly's Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal looking into the distance.
In a major security breach on the anniversary of the deadly 2001 Parliament terror attack, two persons on Wednesday jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery, shouted slogans and released yellow smoke from canisters that triggered panic and chaos in the House.
'Since September 1, a senior cabinet minister has been to-ing and fro-ing between Jalna and Mumbai by chartered flight every single day with messages from the two deputy chief ministers and the chief minister to get Manoj Jarange-Patil to back down from his agitation.'
His reaction comes in the backdrop of Shiv Sena candidate Sanjay Pawar losing the sixth seat in the Rajya Sabha polls from Maharashtra held on Friday, a contest which had become a high-prestige battle between the ruling Sena and the opposition BJP in the state.
The party will also issue notices to 16 MLAs of the rebel faction and ask them to respond by Monday, said Sena MP Arvind Sawant in Mumbai.
The Centre on Sunday extended Y-plus security cover of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) commandos to at least 15 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, officials said.
The top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
The Parliament security breach on Wednesday was well-coordinated, meticulously planned and carried out by six accused, five of whom have been nabbed, police sources said on Wednesday.
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