Facing criticism from his cabinet and party colleague Narayan Rane over the functioning of the state government, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Wednesday said he will abide by the directives of his party leadership.
The Mumbai Cricket Association will shower Sachin Tendulkar with a hundred gold coins to commemorate his fabulous feat of compiling 100 international centuries. The decision to felicitate the batting ace with 100 gold coins, worth around Rs 23-25 lakh, was taken by the MCA's managing committee, headed by Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.
The Union Council of Ministers was expanded on Thursday with the induction of 59 ministers
Union Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Friday said that he is not a contender for the chief minister's post in Maharashtra. Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi, Deshmukh said he would leave the decision to the party high command. Deshmukh, who has headed the state government twice earlier, is claiming the support of fifty Members of Legislative Assembly.
Former India skipper and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar and Union Minister for Heavy Industries Vilasrao Deshmukh were on Tuesday elected unopposed as vice-presidents of Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). After the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended on Tuesday evening, both Vengsarkar and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Deshmukh were left without any opponent for the July 10 elections.
Amid reports that more leaders from Congress and Nationalist Congress Party from Maharashtra could have links with the controversial Adarsh Housing Society, three ex-Maharashtra chief ministers and a NCP leader have claimed they had not recommended any case for membership.
Let me assure you that we will spare no efforts to ensure that quality of life in Mumbai is comparable to the best international cities, says Maharashtra chief minister.
Starting a blame game, Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said it was Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan as the then Revenue Minister who asked the controversial housing society involved in a scam in Mumbai to change the bye-laws to include civilians in it.
Keeping up the trend of power legacy in Indian politics, at least 20 candidates contesting in the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly elections are sons and daughters of prominent political leaders.
Seeking to wash his hands off the Adarsh scam, Union Minister of Power Sushil Kumar Shinde on Monday told a judicial panel the decision to allot government land and grant of additional Floor Space Index to the housing society was taken during the tenure of Vilasrao Deshmukh as the chief minister of Maharashtra.
The Congress on Monday suffered a setback losing two out of three seats it had contested in the biennial elections to Maharashtra Legislative Council, which it fought in alliance with the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party.
Union minister and Congress leader Vilasrao Deshmukh and two Nationalist Congress Party candidates were elected on Monday to the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra. NCP leaders Govindrao Adik and Ranjitsinh Mohite Patil were elected to the Upper House of parliament against the seats vacated by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and Supriya Sule after their election to Lok Sabha.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday expressed shock and deep sorrow over the demise of Vilasrao Deshmukh, saying he had lost a "dear friend and a very valued colleague".
The party high command has set up a high profile three-member panel of Union Ministers Pranab Mukherjee and A K Antony, and political adviser to Congress president Ahmed Patel to review the performance of Deshmukh, who has been at the receiving end from his detractors.Speculation is rife for the past some months that Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is keen to replace him."The Congress periodically conducts in-house exercises, " Tiwari said.
With a month to go for Maharashtra assembly polls, Congress is facing a dilemma on continuance of its alliance with Nationalist Congress Party as a group in the party led by a Union minister is wanting the leadership to dump that party and go it alone in the elections.
Maharashtra Congress leaders on Tuesday met at Defence Minister AK Antony's residence to discuss seat-sharing formula for the October's assembly elections. Maharashtra's Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, former chief minister Narayan Rane, Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Mumbai Congress chief Kripa Shankar Singh attended the meeting.
The Nationalist Congress Party's seat-sharing with the Congress in Maharashtra could turn out to be a ticklish task with Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh contending that it should reflect the Lok Sabha election results in the state.
Amid continuing deadlock between government and Team Anna Hazare on Lokpal, the Gandhian on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue.
He said any decision regarding divestment of BHEL has to be taken by the board of the company.
Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, Union ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and Rajeev Shukla, and Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi and actor Jaya Bachchan were among the 50 new members who took oath in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, former chief minister of the state, had a meeting with Gandhi on the issue. Chief Minister Ashok Chavan also arrived in New Delhi in the evening for talks with central leaders.
No one from Pravin's family was present at the wedding.
The actress has been noted for her contribution to cinema.
Immediately after Parliament agreed to Anna Hazare's three key demands on Lokpal Bill, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday sent him a letter conveying the same and urged the Gandhian to give up his 12-day fast. "As you know, Parliament today discussed Lokpal related issues. You will be happy to know that both Houses of Parliament have passed a resolution on the three points raised by you," Dr Singh said in the letter which was handed over to Hazare.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation, the investigating agency in Adarsh Housing Society scam, to look into the allegations of involvement of Union ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sushil Kumar Shinde, and submit a progress report by next week.
"The Sukhoi will invest Euro 2 billion (Rs 13,600 crore) for manufacturing about 25 to 50 super jets initially and later 100 aircraft at full capacity," Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Vilas Muttemwar said on Friday.
Amid speculation that the candidature of Rajendra Shekhawat, son of President Pratibha Patil, has been cleared for Maharashtra Assembly polls, the state Congress leadership left it to the party high command to decide the issue of tickets to kins of senior leaders.
The BJP-led government's decision to grant Kunbi status to individuals from the Maratha community has opened a Pandora's box.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came to the help of Anna Hazare who was shown the door by the political class of the country at the all party meeting.
Amid parties accusing rivals of promoting dynastic politics, the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls will see brothers, cousins and father-children in the fray, with members of the same family taking on each other in some seats.
The Congress Working Committee meeting witnessed Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar being targetted by senior Congress leaders on the issue of spiraling price rise. The three leaders who attacked Sharad Pawar but did not name him were former maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, All India Congress Committee general secretaries R K Dhawan and Satyavrat Chaturvedi.
Minutes after Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh announced that he had offered to step down, Union Minister and senior leader from the state Sushil Kumar Shinde met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi.
Vilasrao Deshmukh should quit the Union Cabinet in the wake of critical observations made by the Bombay high court on his role as the then chief minister in the land deal involving Subhash Ghai's Mukta Arts, Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party demanded on Saturday.
Congress sources in New Delhi say the race is narrowing down between Deshmukh and Chavan with latter having an edge.
Union Minister for Heavy Industries Vilasrao Deshmukh on Saturday said he saw nothing wrong in Maharashtra Congress ministers donating money for party chief Sonia Gandhi's public rally near Nagpur.
Maharashtra Congress leader and Union Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Monday side stepped the Padamsinh Patil issue, saying it is an internal matter of the NCP.He was responding to a question on whether Patil should resign from the Parliament, in the wake of his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation, in a murder case.The matter is subjudice and the law will take its own course, Deshmukh said.
"I have already sent a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and spoken to Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and Union Steel Minister Ramvilas Paswan, to use their influence in the Union government to stop attacks on Biharis. Now I am going to write to the Prime Minister," he said, when some opposition members in the state legislative council raised the issue.
Deshmukh told reporters that he had sought the Centre's help to meet the energy shortfall through various Central schemes and NTPC projects.
Union Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Saturday asked people not to attach much importance to what the Thackerays say and accused the family members of fighting among themselves to strengthen their political base in Maharashtra. "Don't attach much importance to what they say. It is their family problem, to strengthen their (respective) political base," the former Maharashtra chief minister said.
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