'All these MLAs want Devendraji as the chief minister again.' 'When their own party ignored them, he supported these Sena MLAs'
The Maharashtra government, led by a coalition of the BJP and Shiv Sena, has admitted that it cannot increase the monthly financial aid under the Ladki Bahin Yojana to Rs 2,100, as promised during the 2024 assembly polls. The government cites severe financial stress as the reason. Social Justice Minister Sanjay Shirsat, a Shiv Sena leader, has said that the scheme will continue with the existing amount of Rs 1,500, but the increase is not feasible at this time. The minister also accused the Finance Department, led by Ajit Pawar, of diverting funds from his department without his knowledge. He called for a law to ensure that the social justice and tribal affairs departments receive their allocated funds. The statement comes as an embarrassment for the Mahayuti government, which had heavily campaigned on the promise of increasing the Ladki Bahin Yojana aid.
Replying to a debate on law and order in the Lower House, Walse Patil said Pravin Chavan has resigned as the special public prosecutor.
Two men were arrested and a minor boy was detained on Monday in connection with the harassment of Union Minister Raksha Khadse's daughter and her friends. The incident took place at a religious event in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district on February 28. The accused were charged with stalking, sexual offenses, and taking photos and videos of the girls without permission. The incident has sparked outrage and calls for swift action against the perpetrators.
Thackeray also drew a comparison between the current regime and Hitler.
The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance appeared set to retain power in Maharashtra, and was leading in 214 of the 288 assembly seats, as per the latest figures by the Election Commission.
Beleaguered Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde resigned from the cabinet on Tuesday, days after his close aide Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the murder of a village sarpanch and three months after the new Mahayuti government assumed office.
The meeting comes against the backdrop of differences in the ruling Mahayuti alliance over the presence of Ajit Pawar-led NCP and his party's opposition to the anti-Muslim tirade by some BJP leaders.
'It is inappropriate to level allegations against your own colleagues after they leave you'
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kirit Somaiya has come under opposition fire over a purported video of the former MP that showed him in a compromising position, even as Maharashtra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday promised a detailed probe into the matter.
Top government sources also said the civic polls in the state, delayed due to the OBC reservation issue being heard by the Supreme Court, are likely to be held in October after getting a clarification from the apex court.
Traffic jams deny 'family time' to people and cause three per cent of divorces in Mumbai, former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis's wife Amruta Fadnavis has claimed.
The NCP minister said while fake notes were seized in other states after demonetisation on November 8 2016, there was not a single such instance in Maharashtra.
'The government's priority is not farmers.'
Police are examining the past records of the arrested men in the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case and a related case of extortion to decide if the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) should be invoked, sources said on Thursday. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he had requested senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam to appear as a special prosecutor in the murder case. The Crime Investigation Department (CID) has sought old case papers and chargesheets against the arrested men. Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed, was abducted and brutally killed on December 9, allegedly for opposing an extortion bid by some persons who had demanded money from a windmill company. Beed Police has put up posters seeking information about whereabouts of three wanted accused in the murder case. CM Fadnavis said he spoke to BJP MLA from Beed, Suresh Dhas who demanded that Nikam be appointed as special public prosecutor in the case. Nikam was a special public prosecutor in several high-profile cases, including the 26/11 terror attacks and 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts. Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar claimed that "smaller fish" could be killed in fake encounters to save the "big fish" involved in the Deshmukh murder and extortion cases. Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra legislative council Ambadas Danve said the trial in the case should be conducted outside Beed district. NCP leader Dhananjay Munde, who has come under fire after the alleged involvement of his aide Karad in the extortion matter came to light, said those who murdered Santosh Deshmukh should be tried in a fast-track court and "hanged till death." The government on Wednesday set up a 10-member SIT to probe the case, headed by Deputy Inspector General -CID Basavraj Teli.
Raut's comments came a day after Fadnavis likened the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government Maharashtra to the Babri mosque structure and said he would not rest till the Shiv Sena-led dispensation was brought down from power.
BJP's Maharashtra unit chief Chandrakant Patil on Friday asserted that his party did not play any role in the ongoing political crisis in the state.
With 8 out of Maharashtra's 10 municipal corporations under the BJP's belt, and a stunning show in 25 zilla parishads and panchayat samitis, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, says Prasanna D Zore, is all set for an encore when his party next faces the polls.
Sources said the BJP is expecting Sena rebels, who include 39 MLAs and have been joined by at least 10 independents in a Guwahati hotel, to make the first move by approaching Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
Defying predictions of his political eclipse, Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar has not only consolidated his position in the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti, but also fortified his place in Maharashtra politics by becoming deputy chief minister for the sixth time.
'Let's see how this love story shapes up in the run up to the municipal corporation election.'
There is no action against the "BJP-linked" school management but an arrested accused is shot dead in suspicious circumstances, he said, adding "we have no trust in Badlapur police".
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday claimed that Uddhav Thackeray planned to make Eknath Shinde the chief minister of Maharashtra after the 2019 polls, but first the Bharatiya Janata Party and later Maha Vikas Aghadi allies including Sharad Pawar played a spoilsport.
On Tuesday, May 30, 2023, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation finished the excavation work for the second and final undersea tunnel being built as part of the Mumbai Coastal Road Project from Swarajya Bhoomi (Girgaon Chowpatty) to Priyadarshini Park.
Fadnavis, the first Bharatiya Janata Party chief minister of the state, filed his papers from the Nagpur South-West constituency.
A dozen ministers will take oath at Tuesday's ceremony, scheduled at Raj Bhavan at 11 am.
Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh was threatened by some unidentified persons days before his murder following a quarrel at a windmill company, his wife claimed on Monday.
Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday agreed to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Devendra Fadnavis as Maharashtra chief minister after a last-minute call from BJP President Amit Shah inviting him to the event.
Encounter specialist Daya Nayak is reportedly leading the investigation.
Discordant voices emerged on Sunday from the Mahayuti even as the alliance continued to remain in the throes of government formation more than week after it swept the Maharashtra assembly polls.
The message from Sunday's event will undoubtedly reverberate globally. It's a landmark occasion that will be remembered for generations and will inspire many other states to introduce the story of Rajendra Chola into school curricula, says Tarun Vijay.
Talking to reporters, Fadnavis said he has received the notice and he would visit the police station at 11 am on Sunday as being asked.
The MNS, which has one MLA, had backed the Bharatiya Janata Party in the last month's elections to the Rajya Sabha as well as state Legislative Council seats.
Even before the first votes are counted in Maharashtra, fissures have emerged within the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on who will head the next government. Both camps are claiming the chief minister's post, with constituents in both camps laying claim over the chief minister's post. The MVA, consisting of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), and the Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, have expressed confidence that their respective alliance will form the next government after votes are counted on Saturday. While a majority of exit polls have predicted that Mahayuti will retain power, a few have favored the MVA.
A close aide of the former chief minister said he was busy holding meetings at his residence ahead of the two-day special session of the Maharashtra legislature from July 3.
Before the violence and rioting that erupted in Nagpur on Monday, March 17, over Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb came provocative statements from various political leaders.
The massive victory of Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti in Maharashtra indicates a tactical course correction post the Lok Sabha debacle, with factors like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's active role in the poll campaign, Ladki Bahin scheme, rise in women voting, and subtle message of Hindutva playing a crucial role.
Most of the 40 MLAs in the Shinde camp don't have enough legislative experience to conduct business in the House and so the first ministry expansion needed induction of veterans.
Fadnavis on Saturday said the ruling Eknath Shinde-BJP coalition in Maharashtra is a legitimate government.
Fadnavis said it is made to appear the border dispute has arisen only after the Shinde-led government came to power (in June this year).
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