Even as the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress were burning the candle at both ends to hammer out a deal over forming the government in Maharashtra, the Amit Shah-led BJP was quietly planning its moves.
"It is complete red herring. I thought the state will see some sense. But, these are different nature of battles. Sorry, dismissed," the bench said.
'The biggest loser is Raj Thackeray's MNS. The MNS may inspire fear, but fear doesn't fetch votes.'
'If they don't make Ajit Pawar chief minister, what can he do?'
The Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday approved setting up of three special Central Bureau of Investigation courts in the state to clear long pending cases.
The 20-month-old Fadnavis government will fill up portfolios rendered vacant after the resignation of senior minister Eknath Khadse over corruption charges last month.
'They want to win 45 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra in the 2024 general elections and joining hands with Ajit Pawar is in that direction.'
If only the Congress could rebuild on its strengths and develop a modern enough ideology, we could again be moving towards a clearer two-party political landscape, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The veteran politician accused the BJP of breaking duly elected governments in opposition-ruled states even as it boasted about providing a stable government at the Centre.
Hitting out at Ajit Pawar for his dig at Sharad Pawar's age, Nationalist Congress Party working president Supriya Sule, in a stern response on Wednesday, asked the Maharashtra deputy CM not to disrespect her father.
"The Opposition's mahagathbandhan is an alliance of corruption, negativity and instability. The Opposition has 'dhanshakti' (money power), we have 'janshakti' (people's power)," the prime minister said.
The state government on Friday appointed a three-member team to probe into the police chief's property deals after the channel's claim of his being corrupt.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday cited Delhi's alleged 'liquor scam' to accuse Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao of being under 'remote control' of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Policy decisions should be undertaken after they have been thrashed out in public space by professionals, not by civil servants and politicians, says Shubhashis Gangopadhyay.
Taking a dig at those who have been attacking him over demonetisation, he said, "Some people have lost glow on their faces... earlier they used to chant money-money, now they are chanting Modi-Modi."
Alleging that drought in Maharashtra is "man-made", social activist Anna Hazare on Saturday said the combine of political apathy and corruption, coupled with unchecked exploitation of water resources, was responsible for parched conditions in the state.
Housing market in Mumbai Metropolitan Region recording worst half-yearly performance since global financial crisis in 2008 has worsened the situation for them
Ajit Pawar was earlier sworn in as deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde government, while eight others, including Walse Patil and Bhujbal, were made ministers, the developments coming after a vertical split in the NCP.
'This move rendered the chiefs of important investigative agencies to the status of daily wage earners. It undermined the autonomy and independence of the agencies.'
The 73-year-old leader was greeted by senior leaders of his party as he walked out of Mumbai's Arthur Road prison around 4.45 pm.
'You (Modi) come here and don't even take the name of your Chief Minister (Basavaraj Bommai) and (B S) Yediyurappa (former CM). Your speeches are all about Narendra Modi'
Legislators, bureaucrats feel an impact, with works relating to their constituencies stuck at various levels.
As many as 35 of 53 Nationalist Congress Party MLAs were present at the party meeting convened by Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in Mumbai on Wednesday, party sources said.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday listed for the second week of July a plea by jailed former Maharashtra minister and Nationalists Congress Party leader Nawab Malik against a Bombay high court order putting off the hearing on his bail plea in a money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate.
In a bid to mount pressure on the government over imposition of local body tax (LBT), all trade organisations across Maharashtra have decided to observe a two-day statewide bandh from July 15.
The five-state assembly elections are seen as a now-or-never, no-holds battle for the Congress, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Congress on Wednesday said the Supreme Court judgment on certain matters relating to transactions by the Adani Group has proven to be 'extraordinarily generous' to Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and asserted that the party's fight against crony capitalism and its ill-effects on prices, employment and inequalities will continue.
The Bombay high court rejected his bail plea on the ground that he was prima facie involved in the Maharashtra Public Service Commission and prime accused in the multi-crore answer paper scam.
Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar speaks to Prasanna Zore/Rediff.com.
Interestingly, Kanal's crossover to Sena came on a day Aaditya Thackeray led a morcha against alleged scams and corruption in the Mumbai civic body.
At least four FIRs related to extortion were registered against Singh in Mumbai and adjoining Thane.
The high court had on December 12 granted bail to the 73-year-old NCP leader in the case but said the order will be effective after 10 days
The SC said the "messy state of affairs" has "the propensity of unnecessarily shaking confidence of people in police system".
A court in Mumbai on Monday granted bail to designer Anishka Jaisinghani, arrested for allegedly offering a bribe to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's wife Amruta for intervening in a criminal case and attempting to extort Rs 10 crore from her.
Petrol station dealers across Maharashtra went on a day-long strike, protesting alleged harassment by an agency authorised to check fuel quality.
With Maharashtra Director General of Police A N Roy retiring this month-end, Director General (Anti Corruption Bureau) Hasan Gafoor has emerged the frontrunner for the top post, given his seniority, home department sources said.
While the BJP is in a comfortable position to choose between the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party, both have its share of drawbacks. Prasanna D Zore/Rediff. com reports
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.
The Bombay high court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest litigation seeking a disproportionate assets case against former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and his family, observing that it sought a "roving enquiry".
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday said he aspired to become the CM of the state and also took a jibe at his 83-year-old uncle asking when will the Maratha strongman retire from active politics, as he appeared to be ahead in the numbers game for control of the Nationalist Congress Party after its vertical split.
