Unlike the frenzy and buzz in political circles during the last few days, the meetings on Thursday were held in a discreet manner.
'His personality, work, life is much beyond a film.'
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.
He also said Shiv Sena, led by Shinde, and BJP will fight all elections together, which was discussed during their meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.
The two rival Senas took over each other a day after the party's 57th foundation day celebrations which saw Thackeray and Shinde holding separate events in Mumbai and trading charges.
Amravati MLA Ravi Rana has claimed Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray head and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray will join the Modi government in 15 days after the Lok Sabha election results come out on Tuesday.
Nationalist Congress Party considers Sunetra Pawar, wife of the late Ajit Pawar, for the position of NCP legislature leader, emphasizing the importance of family consent in the decision-making process.
Sena MLA and party spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat said each MLA has filed a reply of 6,000 to 6,500 pages.
Fadnavis made the remarks in reference to reports speculating mid-term polls in Maharashtra amid farmers' stir
Raut said the statement might result in a rift in the MVA, which comprises the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, apart from the Uddhav-Sena.
Taking a strong stand against the call by its ally Shiv Sena for the scrapping of Muslims' voting rights, the government today said such suggestions were not acceptable to it and that these "should not be discussed even hypothetically".
Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut last week met NCP chief Sharad Pawar requesting him not field a candidate against Aaditya Thackeray in Worli.
Addressing the Sena workers in Mumbai for the second consecutive day, he also said that doors of the state and party are closed for the rebels MLAs.
Opposition parties are demanding a full Parliament discussion on the West Asia conflict, criticising the government's silence and calling for a contingency plan to protect India's energy security and citizens.
Shiv Sena leader and former MP Rahul Shewale said around 2 lakh people are expected to attend the rally at Azad Maidan to hear the CM.
The MLAs, who are seemingly unhappy with their leadership, arrived in Surat on Monday night and are camping at the Le Meridian Hotel, they said.
The name of Devendra Fadnavis has been finalised as the new chief minister of Maharashtra who will be elected as the legislature party leader in a meeting to be held either on December 2 or 3, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader said on Sunday night.
PM Modi's statement on Wednesday led ally Shiv Sena to rake up his past when he was chief minister during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Chavan entered the ED office in south Mumbai at around 12.30 pm and came out at about 9 pm, the official said.
Raut said during their meeting, Rahul told him the system of creating and building leaders has stopped in the Congress.
Modi did not mention anybody's name during his speech, which came a month after Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar met him in Delhi.
After hearing arguments from Shiv Sena factions led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray, Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar has decided to conduct the official hearing on disqualification petitions against the MLAs of the Shinde group on October 13, advocate Anil Sakhare, who is representing the CM, said on Monday.
The Indian government briefed an all-party meeting on Thursday on the success of "Operation Sindoor", the retaliatory airstrikes against Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack. Top government functionaries and opposition leaders met for a second time in a fortnight amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan. The meeting was chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by several prominent leaders from various political parties. The government highlighted the strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base Muridke.
On Friday, Shrikant Shinde had said some leaders were trying to create hurdles in the alliance in Dombivali area (under Kalyan Lok Sabha seat) for their own selfish politics and that he was ready to leave the seat since the aim was to ensure the Narendra Modi government returns with a thumping majority in the 2024 LS polls.
A special court in Mumbai denied bail to businessman Sujit Patkar, an aide of Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, in the alleged COVID treatment centres scam. The court found that Patkar played with the "life of people" by under-deployment of doctors and staff to generate proceeds of crime. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleged that Patkar's firm, Lifeline Hospital Management, fraudulently obtained a contract for supplying medical staff at Dahisar and Worli Jumbo Covid facilities during the pandemic, resulting in the generation of proceeds of crime (PoC) amounting to Rs 32.44 crore. The court noted that there are ample statements of the witnesses to show that a list of more staff members was prepared than being deployed on the instructions of Patkar.
He, however, made it clear that his party candidates, as and when they contest elections, will do so only on MNS symbol 'railway engine'.
Why is the police action being questioned, the Rajya Sabha MP asked.
'NCP wants the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress to come together and provide a stable government.'
MVA allies Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress on Thursday asserted that they will continue to support Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, whose party Shiv Sena is facing a rebellion in its legislative ranks, threatening the stability of his government.
Regarding alliance with the Congress, the Sena's political rival till recently, Raut said leaders of the country's oldest party have contributed to freedom struggle as well as development of Maharashtra.
Pawar said some programmes have been decided for the unity of the alliance.
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.
The department raided more than 35 premises in Maharashtra's capital city on February 25, and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement on Thursday that 'preliminary investigation indicates that these contractors have evaded income to the extent of Rs 200 crore on account of...malpractices'.
'This government will be toppled in 2024.'
According to insiders, "talks are on" between the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena at "an exploratory level".
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said the PM was not conducting an aerial survey of the cyclone-hit areas in Maharashtra because he knew that the state is led by a strong chief minister unlike in his home state Gujarat.
Political sources say Modi is 'keen' on getting the NCP (SP) over to the Mahayuti to counter Eknath Shinde's 'demands' and to act as a cushion against his present allies, Nitish Kumar and N Chandrababu Naidu, 'in case their relationship became untenable'.
In a fresh statement, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader has raised questions on the attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan suspecting if the attack on the actor was real or if Khan was just acting. Rane while addressing a public gathering in Maharashtra's Pune, raised questions on attack on Saif saying -- "I doubted whether he had been stabbed or he was acting."
A day after an advertisement with photos of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the talking point in the state, an ad on the state's ruling alliance appeared in Marathi dailies on Wednesday featuring leaders like Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.
Ranaut filed a plea in the high court on September 9, seeking that the court declare the demolition of a part of her bungalow in Pali Hill area here by the BMC as illegal. She subsequently amended her plea to demand Rs 2 crore as damages from the civic body and its officials for the demolition.
