Seeking to absolve himself of culpability in the Adarsh scam, Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Wednesday passed the buck to former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, saying the "whole" matter was referred to the revenue department for clearance after which the land was allotted.
Union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Thursday made his chief ministerial ambitions clear, when he stated during an interview that there was no hard and fast rule in the Congress that only a Member of Legislative Assembly could be elected to the CM's post.Deshmukh added that the party MLAs and the high command should finalise the next CM. Deshmukh was replaced by Ashok Chavan as chief minister last year, in the wake of the terror attack on Mumbai.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has conveyed his concern to Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh over the security of Biharis and other Hindi-speaking people living there. Kumar also sought effective steps for the safety and security of these people, a spokesman for the chief minister's office said. Deshmukh assured the Bihar chief minister of providing security to the lives and property of the Hindi-speaking population in Maharashtra.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has filed a civil case of defamation against Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nitin Gadkari over latter's corruption charges in the Sion-Panvel Highway Expansion project.
Social activist Anna Hazare on Tuesday met family members of late former Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and offered his condolences to them.
With Nationalist Congress Party leader Chagan Bhujbal floating the idea of rotating the post of chief minister, senior Congress leader Vilasrao Deshmukh said on Thursday there was no doubt about his party getting the Chief Ministership in Maharashtra.
The inquiry commission probing the Adarsh Housing Society scam has issued summons to former Maharashtra chief ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and Ashok Chavan to appear before it as witnesses. The two-member commission, which summoned Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde last week, issued summons to Deshmukh, presently Union minister for rural development, and Chavan.Chavan had to step down as the state chief minister last year following the Adarsh controversy.
Sakal also regaled readers with a story on the remake of Bollywood blockbuster Sholay by its original director Ramesh Sippy, after the disastrous attempt by Ramgopal Varma last year.
Union ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sushil Kumar Shinde's son and daughter respectively figure in the third list of Congress candidates for the Maharashtra assembly polls.While Deshmukh's son Amit will contest from Latur city constituency, Shinde's daughter Praniti will fight from Solapur city central. The third list was announced by the All India Congress Committee on Thursday night. Rajendra Shekhawat, son of President Pratibha Patil, has already been nominated.
Riteish Deshmukh's brother is set to tie the knot today with Deepshikha Bhagnani.
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay a Bombay high court judgment making remarks against former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in a case involving allotment of 20 acre land to filmmaker Subhash Ghai's institute. The apex court, however, said it will hear in detail the petition filed by Deshmukh, now a Union minister, seeking expunging of remarks made by the high court in its February 9 judgment.
Union Minister for Rural Development and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Friday said the land for the controversial Adarsh Society belonged to the state and was never reserved for defence personnel or Kargil war heroes. In an affidavit filed before the two-member Adarsh Commission, set up to probe irregularities in the scam-tainted Adarsh Society, Deshmukh said, "The records clearly show that the land belonged to the state government."
The two Nationalist Congress Party leaders were administered oath of office by Governor Mohammed Fazal at a function at Azad Maidan in south-Mumbai.
Deshmukh, who is Science and Technology Minister, was given additional charge of the Ministry immediately after Virbhadra Singh resigned in the wake of a Himachal Pradesh court framing corruption charges against him in a 23-year-old case in June, this year.
Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Monday visited Anna Hazare, who ended his 13-day fast for an effective Lokpal Bill, at a private hospital in neighbouring Gurgaon.
Besides Deshmukh, Union Textiles Minister Shankersinh Vaghela, who also spoke at the function on Sunday, face flak for his remarks against farmers in Vidarbha where thousands of debt-ridden farmers have committed suicide
Seeking to allay fears over the power situation in the state, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has assured investors that steps are being taken by the government to improve infrastructure and make the state more attractive for entrepreneu
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh's resignation has been accepted, says Congress leader A K Antony.
Acknowledging unabated suicides by farmers in Vidarbha region of the state, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said his government will leave no stone unturned while handling the issue and has already initiated some measures to curb suicidal tendencies among the farming community in the region.
Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who is against an alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party, was made chairman of the Congress election management committee on Friday, possibly raising questions over the tie-up in the Assembly polls in Maharashtra.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has said his Revenue Minister and former Shiv Sena leader Narayan Rane had aspirations to become Chief Minister and had joined the Congress with this sole objective.
Following a meeting of Congress Parliamentary Party, where some members felt that leaders from Maharashtra should be roped in to talk to the 74-year-old Gandhian, Deshmukh drove to Ramlila Maidan to meet Hazare but maintained that it was "in his personal capacity."
Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar filed his nomination for the president's post in the upcoming Mumbai Cricket Association's elections, setting the stage for a straight fight for the coveted post with Union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who also filed his papers on Thursday.
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.
Actor Ritesh Deshmukh talks about life and his upcoming Apna Sapna Money Money.
Honour inter-state treaties: Deshmukh to Karna CM
Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh has offered to resign and a decision on it will be taken in a day or two, highly placed Congress sources say.
The Congress has conveyed to Rane that Sushil Kumar Shinde is likely to be made chief minister if there is a change of leadership.
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.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Thursday scotched speculation about any threat to his position after a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi. "All is well. I am satisfied," he said after the meeting, the first after the defeat of the NCP-Congress candidate in the Thane Lok Sabha bypoll.
Chavan, who had to step down as Chief Minister soon after the alleged scam surfaced in November 2010, is one of the 14 accused in the case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which is probing several irregularities and violation of rules in construction of the 31-storeyed building in upscale Colaba.
"It is a policy decision taken by the state cabinet and therefore there is no question of going back on it," Deshmukh said.
Brushing aside the criticisms on filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma being part of his entourage to the terror-hit Taj hotel and other sites, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Monday said there was "no bad intention in it".
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Friday took charge of the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, and said achieving the 100-day target set by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be his priority.
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.
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