'I don't know if she is doing it willingly or not, but she is respecting the sentiments of the party.'
NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar has raised doubts about the circumstances surrounding the death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in an air crash and plans to provide a detailed presentation on the matter.
Newly-appointed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar has been allocated the portfolios of State Excise Duty, Sports and Youth Affairs and Minorities Development and Aukaf.
'The entire Pawar family -- Sunetra Vahini, Jay and Parth Pawar (Ajit Pawar's sons), Sharad Pawar, his daughter Supriya Sule -- will sit together and decide how to move forward.'
Ajit Pawar became a ray of hope for Muslims, the only man in power who could resolve their grievances.
Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate was stripped of his portfolios after being convicted in a 1995 cheating and forgery case. His ministries have been reassigned to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Kokate has been admitted to Lilavati Hospital after complaining of chest pain.
'A poor candidate was given a chance so that the concerns of ordinary, needy citizens could be represented.'
Maharashtra is set to hold local body elections on December 2 for municipal councils and nagar panchayats. The polls are seen as a test of the ruling coalition's strength after their recent assembly election victory.
Maharashtra is set to hold local body elections for municipal councils and nagar panchayats, marking the first phase of a Supreme Court-mandated process. The elections are seen as a key indicator of political sentiment following the BJP-led Mahayuti's victory in the assembly elections.
Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate is under fire after a video surfaced allegedly showing him playing rummy on his phone during a legislative session. The opposition accuses the government of being insensitive to farmers' issues.
The speculation about the likely cabinet reshuffle in Maharashtra strengthened on Saturday, with senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule stressing that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' discretion is supreme among allies.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has dismissed reports of a rift within the ruling Mahayuti alliance, stating that "everything is hunky-dory." He attributed any issues to differences that will be resolved through discussions. Shinde's comments come after reports of him complaining to Union Home Minister Amit Shah about Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). However, Pawar and BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar have denied the allegations, claiming Shinde would have directly approached them if there were any issues. The ruling alliance comprises the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, which retained power after the state assembly polls last year. The alliance has also faced challenges with the appointment of guardian ministers in Raigad and Nashik, with the Shiv Sena opposing the appointments of Aditi Tatkare (NCP) and Girish Mahajan (BJP).
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will ask NCP minister Dhananjay Munde to step down if any evidence is found linking him to sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh's murder, his cabinet colleague Chandrakant Patil has said. A comprehensive probe is being conducted into the murder of Deshmukh, BJP leader Patil told reporters in Sangli on Sunday. Walmik Karad, an associate of minister Munde, has been arrested in an extortion case linked to the sarpanch's killing. Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted, tortured and killed on December 9 for trying to stop an extortion attempt against an energy firm operating a windmill project there. Munde, the NCP MLA from Parli in Beed district, is under attack from some of the ruling alliance colleagues and the opposition over his links with Karad. The Maharashtra government has already seized properties of the accused in sarpanch Deshmukh murder case. Stringent charges have been invoked and the probe is going on, the BJP leader said. The police machinery is actively investigating the case, and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has also been formed for a probe into it, Patil said. Additionally, a committee headed by a retired judge has been constituted to oversee the inquiry, the minister said. Steps are being taken, including invocation of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against Walmik Karad and other accused, Patil pointed out. The process of seizing Karad's assets is also underway, he added.
Thousands of people gathered in Maharashtra's Beed city on Saturday to protest against the brutal murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh as even MLAs from ruling parties demanded the sacking of Nationalist Congress Party minister Dhananjay Munde.
Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Suraj Chavan on Sunday took objection to Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Suresh Dhas targeting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar over the probe into the murder of a sarpanch in Beed district.
The accused, Sudarshan Chandrabhan Ghule (26) and Sudhir Sangle (23), were handed over to the special investigation team of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is probing the case, the official said.
The post read that the victim was shocked and on the verge of committing suicide due to frequent harassment by the 22-year-old college student.
A Nationalist Congress Party member of Legislative Assembly posed with a fake gun in the Vidhan Bhawan premises on Monday
The Nationalist Congress Party MLA was caught on camera allegedly slapping Deputy Collector (land acquisition) Abhay Kargutkar, reportedly after a disagreement over compensation to farmers for land acquisition.
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday searched premises of Baramati Agro, a company owned by MLA Rohit Pawar, grand nephew of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, and linked entities as part of a money laundering probe into the alleged Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank scam, official sources said.
The Pune police chief told reporters that an internal inquiry has pointed to lapses on the part of some cops while registering the case and action will be taken against them.
Both the teenager's father, realtor Vishal Agarwal, and Dr Taware have been arrested in related cases following the accident of May 19 where two IT professionals were killed when the car allegedly driven by the drunk 17-year-old crashed into their motorbike.
NCP MP Supriya Sule and other party leaders accompanied the 38-year-old legislator till the entrance of the probe agency's office.
A group of Maratha reservation activists torched the first floor of the Majalgaon Municipal Council building and vandalised it in Maharashtra's Beed district, soon after setting on fire the residence of local NCP MLA Prakash Solanke on Monday, the police said.
'Where would a person living in the forest for 14 years go to find vegetarian food? Is it correct or not (question to the public)? Tell me when I am telling the truth'
The incident took place at the unit, located 40 km from Nagpur, causing severe damage to the building, an official at Kondhali police station said.
Munde, whose party is a key ally in the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government, has made the demand in a letter written to Thackeray on Monday.
In his letter to Ajit Pawar, who too is a deputy CM, Fadnavis said Malik has the right to attend the assembly as an MLA and added that "we (the BJP) do not harbour any personal animosity or grudge" against him.
'We know these are mind games Ajit dada is playing, but he (Sharad Pawar) doesn't get swayed by such gestures.'
Emerging out of the ED grilling in Mumbai, Rohit Pawar denied any wrongdoing and asserted struggle was imminent in fight for ideology while declaring he wasn't scared.
Activist Manoj Jarange on Monday said he will set out on a tour of Maharashtra after the Diwali festival to meet Marathas and make them aware about the issue of reservation for the community.
Nationalist Congress Party MLA Saroj Ahir from Nasik district attended the Maharashtra state assembly's winter session in Nagpur with her new-born baby on Monday.
Should the anti-defection law in India exist only to prevent democratically elected governments from being toppled?
Out of the 24 NCP MLAs who attended the session, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, cabinet ministers Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode, Dhananjay Munde, Anil Patil and Dharmarao Atram were seated on the ruling side.
The situation is currently under control, Beed Superintendent of Police Nandkumar Thakur told PTI.
Patil, who heads the Maharashtra NCP unit, also scotched speculation that he was set to join the Ajit Pawar-led group in the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government.
Nationalist Congress Party legislator from Pachora, Maharashtra, Dilip Wagh, who was booked for allegedly raping a girl, was arrested in Mumbai on Saturday after getting suspended from the party.
Fasting quota activist Manoj Jarange on Monday sought reservation for the Maratha community in entire Maharashtra and not in specific regions and warned the ongoing agitation will be ratcheted up if the demand was not fulfilled by the state government.
'Now Modi ji is saying it is his guarantee that every corrupt person will be made a minister'
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar has said he is yet to ascertain whether the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is a part of the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government or is still in the Opposition.