Devendra Fadnavis

Preparations for 2027 Kumbh in Nashik slow, will overcome hurdles: Fadnavis

Preparations for the 2027 Kumbh Mela in Nashik are progressing at a slower pace than anticipated, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Sunday, describing it as an event of "faith and technology". Speaking at a programme of CII Young Indians in Nashik, Fadnavis acknowledged the challenges in organising the large-scale event but expressed confidence in overcoming them. The chief minister noted that while work on infrastructure is currently behind schedule, the situation is improving. "We started preparations for the Kumbh Mela last year. If we had started the work in 2020, we would have been in a more comfortable position today," he said. Fadnavis credited the efficiency of the team working on the event that has been following a reverse planning strategy and assured that despite the delays, progress was being made, drawing from the experience of the successful Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj. "In 2015, Nashik hosted the Kumbh Mela, and after many years, no fatalities were ..

Nagpur violence: Rioters to pay cost of the damage, says Maharashtra CM

The cost of properties damaged during Nagpur violence will be recovered from rioters and the failure to pay up would lead to the seizure and selling of their properties, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday. Addressing a press conference, Fadnavis said 104 rioters have been identified after analysing videos and footage from CCTV cameras so far and action has been taken against 92 people, including 12 minors, as per the law. Fadnavis said the scheduled visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be impacted due to the violence that occurred on Monday in central Nagpur areas. "The cost of properties damaged during Nagpur violence will be recovered from rioters and the failure to pay up would lead to the seizure and selling of their properties to recover losses. "Strict action will be taken against rioters who attacked police personnel. My government will not rest until elements who attacked the police are found out and dealt with sternly," said Fadnavis, w

Nagpur violence: Muslim leaders seek impartial probe, urge CM to meet reps

Members of the Muslim community in Nagpur have condemned the violence in Vidarbha's largest city earlier this week and sought an impartial probe into it, claiming that timely action by police could have prevented it. Addressing a press conference on Thursday, they said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should meet representatives of both communities in a bid to establish peace. Large-scale stone pelting and arson were reported in several parts of Nagpur on Monday evening after rumours began circulating about a chadar' with holy inscriptions being burnt during protests led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) seeking the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb. Efforts are being made to provoke the Muslim community through various means in the last two to three years. A minister has been continuously raising the topic of Aurangzeb. The Muslim community has no connection to Aurangzeb and has remained calm, Dr Mohammad Awes Hasan said at the press conference. He alleged that right-wing .

Gates Foundation to partner with Maha to make state malaria-free: Fadnavis

Bill Gates is currently on an India visit. He met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other central ministers in New Delhi earlier this week

Nagpur violence: Curfew continues for third day, 69 people arrested so far

Violence erupted in Nagpur on Monday night after rumours spread that a 'Chadar' with Quranic verses had been burned during a protest. Clashes escalated, as police struggled to restore order

Those who attacked police in Nagpur will be dug out from graves: Fadnavis

In a stern warning to perpetrators of Nagpur violence, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said attackers of police will be "dug out from their graves" and made to face the law. His reaction comes amid outrage over rioters allegedly touching a woman constable inappropriately and trying to disrobe her during violence on Monday night. The mob had hurled stones and petrol bombs, injuring 33 police personnel, including three DCP-rank officers. "Those who attacked police during the arson in Nagpur will be dug out from their graves. Attacks on police are unpardonable. They will get the strictest punishment. We won't spare them," Fadnavis said in the Assembly while replying to a debate on the Budgetary demands of the Home department. He reiterated that the violence and arson were premeditated with an intention to disturb social harmony. Fadnavis clarified that his statement didn't contradict the Nagpur police commissioner. "The Nagpur police commissioner said the ..

Nagpur violence premeditated; film Chhaava reignited emotions: CM Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the violence in Nagpur appears to be premeditated and the mob had targeted specific houses, and stated that the film "Chhaava" reignited people's emotions against Aurangzeb. Speaking in the legislative assembly, Fadnavis said the Vicky Kaushal-starrer "Chhaava", based on the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, brought before the people the true history of the Maratha king. Chhatrapati Sambhaji, son of Maratha Empire founder Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was tortured and killed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. "After that (the movie), people's emotions have been reignited. The anger against Aurangzeb is being exhibited in a big way," he said. Curfew has been imposed in several areas of Nagpur city after a protest against Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb on Monday triggered violence during which several houses and vehicles were vandalised. Fadnavis, who holds the Home portfolio, said 33 police personnel, including three deputy

Nagpur violence seems premeditated; mob targeted specific houses: Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the violence in Nagpur appears to be a premeditated conspiracy and the mob had targeted specific houses and establishments. Curfew has been imposed in several areas of Nagpur city after a protest against Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb on Monday triggered violence during which several houses and vehicles were vandalised. Speaking in the legislative assembly, Fadnavis said 33 police personnel, including three deputy commissioners of police, were injured in the violence, and one of the senior officials was attacked with an axe. At least 12 police personnel, including three DCPs (deputy commissioners of police), were injured in the violence, which erupted in central Nagpur. The chief minister, who also holds the Home portfolio, said those who attacked police personnel will not be spared. He said, "The mob targeted specific houses and establishments. It (the attack) appears to be a premeditated conspiracy." Deputy Chief Min

Nagpur violence: Residents share accounts of attacks on homes and vehicles

Aurangzeb row: Violence broke out in Nagpur on Monday night after rumours spread that a holy book was desecrated during a protest

Fadnavis urges peace amid Nagpur violence over rumours of burning holy book

Tension gripped central Nagpur on Monday when stones were hurled at police amid rumours that the holy book of the Muslim community was burnt during an agitation by a right-wing body for the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb, leaving four persons injured, officials said. Police fired tear gas shells and resorted to cane-charge to disperse the mob in Chitnis Park and Mahal areas. Violence also reportedly spread to Kotwali and Ganeshpeth in the late afternoon, officials said. Officials said the Chitnish Park to Shukrawari Talao road belt was most affected by violence as per the preliminary information, where some four-wheelers were set afire by rioters. Stones were also thrown at the homes of residents. Police are trying to disperse mobs believed to be in thousands. The trouble began late afternoon shortly after Bajrang Dal members demonstrated near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Mahal area. According to police, rumours spread that the Quran was burnt during the agitation. Video

Centre announces $1 bn fund for creators' economy ahead of WAVES summit

The Centre on Thursday announced a USD 1 billion fund to give a boost to the emerging creators' economy in the country and reached out to envoys from over 100 countries seeking their participation in the first World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) to be held in Mumbai. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hosted the envoys here and sought their presence at the Roundtable of top media CEOs to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the WAVES summit. India is positioning WAVES to be held from May 1 to 4 as the first convergence platform for the media and entertainment sector on the lines of the World Economic Forum at Davos, a gathering of international leaders from governance and business. Fadnavis said Mumbai, the entertainment capital of India, was the perfect permanent venue for the WAVES summit like Davos is for the World Economic Forum and Cannes is

MPSC exams to be conducted in Marathi language, says CM Devendra Fadnavis

All competitive examinations conducted through the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) will be held in Marathi, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said. Fadnavis made the announcement in the state legislative council on Wednesday while responding to a question raised by Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator Milind Narvekar. Narvekar pointed out that some examinations related to agriculture and engineering disciplines were conducted only in English. He asked why the engineering-related exams were not being conducted in Marathi. Addressing the query, CM Fadnavis said, "These exams are already conducted in both Marathi and English. However, court had ruled in certain cases that some exams, particularly those related to agricultural engineering, should be conducted only in English." "When the matter was taken to the court, a discussion was held at the government level, and it was noted that textbooks for these subjects were not available in Marathi. This was brought to the court's ...

Those responsible for flawed MSRTC tender will face action: CM Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday promised a probe into a tender process for leasing buses for MSRTC which is estimated to have caused a loss of Rs 1,700 crore. Speaking in the legislative council, he said work orders were issued at the level of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) through "collusion" with contractors, and action will be taken against those responsible within a month. Fadnavis was responding to a starred question raised by Congress's Rajesh Rathod. "The work orders for the tender process to acquire 1,310 buses were issued when the government formation was underway (after the November 2024 elections), a full cabinet was not in place, and neither the chief minister nor the deputy chief minister had approved it," he said. "This led to an estimated loss of around Rs 1,700 crore to the state exchequer. Following this revelation, the tender process was halted, and an inquiry was ordered under the additional secretary of the ...

Abu Azmi pays tribute to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj amid controversy

Last week, Abu Asim Azmi was suspended from the legislative assembly until the conclusion of the ongoing budget session on March 26 following his remarks praising Aurangzeb

Maharashtra CM Fadnavis supports call for removal of Aurangzeb's tomb

Statement of Devendra Fadnavis came in response to BJP's Satara MP Udayanraje Bhosale, who has called for the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district

'Budget is for people', says Dy CM Eknath Shinde ahead of state budget

Shinde further stated that the Maharashtra government will continue to carry out similar work for the people of the state in the next five years

Gender equality only on paper, must be imbibed in families: Maharashtra CM

Gender equality is currently only on paper and there was need to imbibe it in families by teaching the value that girls and boys are equal, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday. Interacting with journalists on the occasion of International Women's Day, the CM also said he was happy to be the parent of a girl, adding "daughter's are God's blessings" and that he was fortunate to have received it. "Gender equality is a value that needs to be taught from childhood that girls and boys are individuals who needed to be treated equally. Gender equality is only on paper and needs to be imbibed within families, while governments can make interventions," Fadnavis said. On the personal front, the CM said he never felt pressure from society or family since he only has a daughter. Asserting that his wife is an independent individual, Fadnavis said, "I may not agree with all her views and actions, but as an independent individual, she is free. She is often trolled and has

No intention to control media: Maha CM on setting up of monitoring centre

The Maharashtra government does not intend to control the media through the monitoring centre that it plans to set up, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday while asserting the mechanism was to "take note" of what is printed and broadcast for response and clarification purposes. The media monitoring centre (MMC) to be set up under the state government's Directorate of Information and Publicity has come in for criticism and is being dubbed as a move to control the media. A government resolution issued earlier this week said the requirement of such a centre was felt because of the growth of publications, channels and digital platforms and there was need for monitoring under one umbrella how the news related to government schemes, policies are given. A professional consultant will be hired to collect government related news in PDF format and bifurcate into various categories like issues, individuals, departments, positive and negative, the GR stated. "We have no intention

Maha to prevent Rs 60,000 cr sops 'stress' from hitting investments: CM

Pre-election sops like the Ladki Bahin scheme is extracting Rs 60,000 crore from the Maharashtra government and attempts are being made to ensure that it doesn't impact capital investments, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said. Assembly elections were held in Maharashtra in November 2024. Days before the announcement of the state budget on Monday, Fadnavis said Maharashtra is trying to channelise the money paid to the beneficiary women into productive purposes by helping them pool the resources for sustainable businesses. "It is true that when you undertake such expenditure (on welfare schemes), it has a stress on the budget but we are able to manage it. And we are attempting that this does not impact our capital investments," Fadnavis said at a Moneycontrol event on Friday evening. "We are trying to balance budget without reducing the capital investment," he added. It can be noted that the sops have been widely credited for being among the factors leading to the MVA governme

Maharashtra received record FDI in just nine months of 2024-25: Fadnavis

Maharashtra has received record FDI (foreign direct investment) inflows of the past ten years in just nine months of 2024-25, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Friday. Fadnavis quoted the Centre's DPIIT foreign investment report for December 2024 to back his claim. As per the report, Maharashtra has crossed the highest annual foreign direct investment in the last 10 years in just 9 months of the current fiscal, he said. A total of Rs 1,39,434 crore has been received in the first 9 months of the financial year 2024-2025, he said. This is the highest foreign investment received in Maharashtra in any single year in the last 10 years, he said. According to the data compiled by DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) for the end of December 2024, Maharashtra tops the country in FDI inflow, followed by Karnataka and Gujarat. In doing so, the Mahayuti government has broken its own record for the financial year 2016-17. Of course, there is still one quarter