Thackeray also slammed the "Owaisi brothers" (AIMIM leaders) for allegedly ridiculing the names of Hindu gods.
The high court's observation came while dismissing an appeal by Samata Party challenging a single judge's order which had rejected its plea against allotment of 'flaming torch' election symbol to the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of spreading fear, hatred and violence and said the country can not progress under these circumstances as he asked the government to be compassionate in handling farmers' problems to prevent suicides.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated and laid foundation stones of development projects worth more than Rs 38,000 crore in different sectors in Mumbai, giving a big push to infrastructure, urban travel and healthcare ahead of civic polls in the city in which the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction will seek to showcase these ventures to take on their political rivals.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED)'s plea seeking cancellation of bail granted to Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut by a special court in a money laundering case could not be heard by the Bombay high court on Thursday due to paucity of time.
'With one fell swoop he (Sharad Pawar) won the sympathies of the NCP workers at the grassroots, his own flock of MLAs and bolstered his position as the NCP chief'
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Maharashtra assembly speaker to spell out the timeline within a week for adjudication of the disqualification petitions filed against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena MLAs loyal to him who had tied up with the Bharatiya Janata Party to form a new government in June 2022.
'The government has been anti our civilisational values.' 'My fear would be that they erode that some more to have their way and to consolidate their power.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday failed to retain Kasba Peth assembly seat, its stronghold in Maharashtra's Pune district, as Congress candidate Ravindra Dhangekar defeated the saffron party nominee Hemant Rasane in the bypoll.
Top leaders of the Opposition's Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) held talks in an informal setting in Mumbai on Thursday evening to chart out a concrete roadmap and evolve a structure for cooperation among the alliance partners to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Several opposition MPs on Wednesday demanded an explanation from Home Minister Amit Shah after two visitors jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery and opened canisters that emitted coloured smoke, triggering panic among the members.
Thackeray, whose Maha Vikas Aghadi government fell after a rebellion in June last year by his cabinet colleague Eknath Shinde, who went on to become CM, also warned he would extract revenge for his ouster.
Leader of Opposition in the assembly Ajit Pawar (NCP) and fellow NCP leader Dilip Walse- Patil, who was home minister in the previous MVA government, too have been given 'Y-plus-escort' cover.
The top court said it needs to go through the case files and posted the matter for hearing at 3:30 pm on Wednesday
The move has come days after the state government announced to form a special investigation team to probe into the death of Disha Salian, the former manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Opposition leaders on Saturday stepped up pressure on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for stringent action against Bharatiya Janata Party's Ramesh Bidhuri over his derogatory remarks against Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali in the House.
The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on a batch of cross-petitions of Uddhav Thackeray and CM Eknath Shinde factions pertaining to the Maharashtra political crisis.
In its party mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Sena said, "The Congress has opposed the proposal of renaming Aurangabad to Sambhajinagar. It has made the BJP happy. But the Congress's opposition to the proposal is not new and therefore, linking it to the MVA government is foolishness."
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.
Members of the Opposition bloc MVA latched on the HC ruling and staged demonstrations in the legislature complex in Nagpur against the state government.
Petroleum and oil marketing companies raised the price of commercial liquid petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders by Rs 350.50 per unit and domestic LPG cylinders by Rs 50 per unit with immediate effect from Wednesday.
After paying obeisance to Ramlalla and overseeing the construction work of the temple, Shinde said he is happy that the dream of "Hindu Hriday Samrat" Balasaheb Thackeray and crores of Ram bhakts is being fulfilled.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has written a letter to the state legislative council's deputy chairperson seeking that Viplove Bajoria be made the Shiv Sena's chief whip in the Upper House, a move apparently aimed at further cornering the faction led by former CM Uddhav Thackeray.
'Whatever duties I have to dispense off as a Speaker I will do the needful in accordance with the provisions of the law.'
Asked if the investigation by the Enforcement Directorate prompted some NCP leaders to join the BJP-Shiv Sena government, Pawar said he didn't have any information regarding this.
The delegation told Shinde that Samata Party was an old political outfit from Bihar and 'mashaal' (flaming torch) was its election symbol.
"You want my father's face, but not his son. I was ready to come along. If you ditch me when I wanted to implement a promise given to my father, what should I do?" he asked while targeting the BJP.
I challenge the thief to come out on the field with a bow and arrow and we will counter it with a flaming torch, Thackeray said.
Responding to a query on when will the political crisis in Maharashtra end, Shinde, a minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in the state, said things will be clear after some time.
We will do whatever we can for the justice of the Marathi-speaking population in Karnataka, said Fadnavis.
What would Parliament be without these nine ladies?
Shiv Sena member of Parliament Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party was using central agencies to topple the Maharashtra government by targeting the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders and their family members.
'No village in Maharashtra will go to Karnataka! The state government will fight strongly in the Supreme Court to get Marathi speaking villages in Karnataka including Belgaum-Karwar-Nipani!' said Fadnavis.
Several opposition leaders hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party following the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as an MP on Friday, alleging the ruling party was involved in vindictive politics, and said it was a new low for democracy.
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.
The five-state assembly elections are seen as a now-or-never, no-holds battle for the Congress, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The common man and especially civilised people of the state are not agreeing with what has happened and are extending their support'
Raut said that he did not need anyone's 'permission' regarding the issue.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction on Tuesday claimed the Bharatiya Jantea Party candidate Murji Patel withdrew from the Andheri East Assembly bypoll contest after realising that his defeat was imminent.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday travelled in a helicopter together for an event in Palghar as they reaffirmed their commitment to take forward their alliance and spoke about their strong bond after a controversial advertisement.
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