The diplomatic exercise aimed at presenting India's stance against Pakistan on terror comes in the wake of Operation Sindoor -- the Indian offensive against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.
Fadnavis said, "The 2024 assembly polls results have shown who is a gaddar (traitor) and who is a khuddar (self-respecting). People have put a stamp of approval on Shinde being the true inheritor of (Shiv Sena founder) Bal Thackeray's legacy."
Senior Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Subhash Desai's son Bhushan Desai joined Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction of the party on Monday, dealing a jolt to the rival camp.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced that all competitive examinations conducted through the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) will be held in Marathi. The decision was made following a query raised by Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator Milind Narvekar, who pointed out that some examinations related to agriculture and engineering disciplines were conducted only in English. The chief minister stated that efforts are underway to make Marathi textbooks available for technical subjects and that the new education policy allows for engineering courses to be conducted in Marathi. This decision is expected to benefit Marathi-speaking students aspiring to take the MPSC exams.
Shiv Sena-UBT MP Sanjay Raut claimed that former Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena head Eknath Shinde wanted to join the Congress in the past. Raut's claim comes after former Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole offered Shinde and Ajit Pawar the "rotational post of the chief minister" if they switched to the opposition alliance. Raut said that "nothing is impossible in politics" and that Shinde and Ajit Pawar are carrying the flags of the BJP.
Comedian Kunal Kamra continues to face backlash for his jokes targeting Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde. The Legislative Council admitted a breach of privilege notice against him, while a state minister demanded his arrest. The controversy stems from Kamra's stand-up performance where he made satirical remarks about Shinde, leading to protests and vandalism by Shiv Sena supporters. The comedian has been summoned by the police and faces legal trouble, with even Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw justifying the action, emphasizing the need to uphold legal safeguards. Amid the controversy, Kamra lashed out at the mainstream media, calling it a "miscommunication arm" of the ruling party.
Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra has been issued a second notice by Mumbai police to appear for questioning in a defamation case filed against him for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The case was filed based on a complaint by Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel, who accused Kamra of making defamatory statements during a recent show. Kamra's show had sparked controversy with his satirical comments about Shinde's political career and the 2022 rebellion that brought down the MVA government. The notice comes after the police had issued a previous notice to Kamra on Tuesday and sought his presence. Following the first notice, sources said Kamra had requested a week's time to appear before the police.
BJP legislator Pravin Darekar filed a breach of privilege notice against stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra and Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sushma Andhare in the Maharashtra Legislative Council. Darekar accused Kamra of performing a song with insulting references to Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Andhare of supporting the performance with objectionable language. He claimed their actions constituted contempt of the House. Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Bornare also submitted a breach of privilege notice against Andhare for allegedly mocking Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The Speaker will decide on the notices.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday deferred to January 22 the hearing on a plea of the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena against the Maharashtra assembly speaker's order declaring the Sena bloc led by CM Eknath Shinde as "real political party" after its split in June 2022.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday demanded that Maharashtra's Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar take a decision on the disqualification of 16 MLAs at the earliest.
Sunita and Ashutosh Gowarikar's son Konark wed Niyati Kanakia on March 2 in Mumbai.
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.
The EC had, on February 17, recognised the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the real Shiv Sena and had allotted it the 'bow and arrow' symbol, prompting Shah to claim Thackeray would now know on which side the truth was.
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.
'The Congress cannot speak the BJP's words while targeting Kejriwal.' 'What is the difference between the two? Where is the unity of INDIA then?'
Uddhav has promised he will be at Sena Bhavan every day to meet Shiv Sainiks and others, as part of his plan to rebuild the party.
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.
The Bombay high court on Wednesday said the Maharashtra government has not taken vindictive action against any person for re-sharing or re-uploading stand-up comic Kunal Kamra's video in which he indirectly passed a 'traitor' jibe at Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
'When I felt that the party is drifting away from Hindutva, I tried to speak to Uddhavji. But nobody was ready to listen.'
The banker was asked to be present as the police wanted to record statements of witnesses, the official said.
Uddhav Thackeray and his followers have the option to stop riding a tiger and commence work around a more meaningful and enduring political ideology. It is an option Eknath Shinde's side may not have, supported as they were by the BJP, to maintain continuity of the old Sena, argues Shyam G Menon.
Addressing party workers, Thackeray claimed Mufti told him that the BJP's alliance with the PDP was on the condition that Article 370, which provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir, won't be abolished.
Thackeray wondered whether the state government was trying to favour the Adani Group at the cost of residents of Dharavi, a sprawling slum colony.
'We were told that the 'yuvaraj' had announced to contest 151 seats, and they were not willing to back down on that number'
Kamra taunted Shinde using a modified version of a Hindi song from the film Dil To Pagal Hai, eliciting laughter from the audience.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said his party has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court objecting to a meeting between Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar before the crucial verdict on disqualification petitions against rival Sena MLAs, including the CM.
Both the Shiv Senas - one of Maharashtra Chief minister Eknath Shinde and the other of Uddhav Thackeray - marked their foundation day on Monday, with attack on each other.
Disha Salian, former manager of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, died on June 8, 2020, after falling off the 14th floor of a residential building in Mumbai's Malad area, six days before Rajput allegedly committed suicide in his apartment in Bandra.
Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi, suspended from the Maharashtra assembly over his remarks praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, will be '100 per cent' put in jail, Chief Minister Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in the legislative council.
Uddhav claimed that splits were engineered in many parties using central agencies and arrests were made illegally.
Khan is seen putting pressure on women contestants to perform intimate acts on camera in the clip. The conversation also appears to make some of the participants uncomfortable with probing, personal questions bordering on the vulgar.
The Bombay High Court has allowed the police investigation against comedian Kunal Kamra over his remarks against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to continue, but has barred his arrest. The court said the investigation can continue, but Kamra will not be arrested during the pendency of the petition. The court also said that if the police wanted to record Kamra's statement, they shall do so in Chennai, where he currently resides, after giving him prior notice.
Mahim is a mix of predominantly upper-class Maharashtrians, a sizeable cosmopolitan population and minority voters.
According to the sources, it was decided that the MVA will hold revenue division-wise rallies where leaders of all the three Opposition outfits will participate.
Sudhakar Badgujar, the leader in question, denied the allegations while speaking at a news conference in Nashik.
Thackeray's tour comes a week after Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government.
The meeting in New Delhi etc is just the BJP being nice to the man who helped it realise its dream by stabbing Uddhav in the back, notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The inexperienced Uddhav is forced to match up against 24x7 political pros Amit Shah and Narendra Modi who have the added advantage of wielding power at the Centre, asserts Virendra Kapoor.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday said he has followed the principle of '80 per cent social work and 20 per cent politics' of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray in his career and pledged to continue working for the common man. Shinde's remarks came after the state assembly passed a unanimous resolution congratulating him for receiving the 'Adya Jagatguru Shri Sant Tukaram Maharaj Puraskar', a prestigious award from the Warkari (devotees of Lord Vitthal) community, earlier this month. The resolution comes amid a row over stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra's alleged defamatory remarks against Shiv Sena leader Shinde, with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde demanding an apology from Kamra even as the opposition came out in his support.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday dismissed speculation about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's successor, asserting that Modi would continue to lead the country for many more years.
