Page 18 - Maharashtra Government

No change in Maharashtra's leadership, plan to win Assembly elections: BJP

The BJP on Tuesday ruled out any change in its leadership in Maharashtra after its poor showing in the Lok Sabha elections and asserted that it is working on a blueprint for the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP coalition to emerge victorious in the assembly polls, due later this year. The decision was taken at the Maharashtra BJP's core group meeting with party president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. "There will be no change in leadership in Maharashtra," Union Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters at the BJP headquarters. The leaders discussed the strategy to ensure the re-election of the MahaYuti alliance in the upcoming assembly elections, Goyal said. The meeting was attended by senior BJP leaders BL Santosh, Bhupender Yadav, Ashwini Vaishnaw, state BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Chandrakant Patil, Pankaja Munde, Raosaheb Danve and Vinod Tawde, among others. The BJP won nine seats in Maharashtra in the recent Lok Sabha elections, down from its 2019 tally

Sharad Pawar seeks to meet CM to discuss drought-like situation in Pune

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) head Sharad Pawar has written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde seeking a meeting to address the drought-like situation in Purandar, Baramati, Indapur and Daund tehsils of Pune district. In the letter dated June 16, which he posted on a micro-blogging site on Monday, Pawar said the state government had undertaken irrigation schemes in the region to mitigate the drought-like situation but problems were found in their implementation when he visited some of these areas recently. During discussions with the public in these visits, villagers also suggested some measures along with demands to solve the problem of agriculture and drinking water, the former Union minister said in the letter. "There is a need to take permanent measures to overcome the traditional drought situation in the above mentioned talukas of Pune district. For this, we request you to organise a meeting in Mumbai under your leadership and in the presence of the two deputy chief

Address issues raised by OBC leaders on hunger strike: BJP leader Munde

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pankaja Munde on Monday asked the Maharashtra government to seriously address the issues being raised by OBC protesters Laxman Hake and Navnath Waghmare, who have been on a hunger strike here for the past five days. The protesters, from various OBC outfits, have sought the scrapping of the government's draft notification of 'sage soyare' (blood relatives) in connection with giving Kunbi certificates to Marathas to allow the community members to avail quota benefits. Taking to social media platform X, Munde expressed concern over the unequal treatment of protestors and urged the government to ensure equal rights for all. Pointing out to the deteriorating health of Hake and Waghmre, who have refused to even drink water, Munde said, "The government should not discriminate among protestors. Everyone has the right to be heard and treated fairly." Hake alleged the state government was giving preferential treatment to Manoj Jarange, who is leading a stir for

Urban Naxals have entered some NGOs, spreading false narratives: CM Shinde

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said "urban Naxals" have infiltrated some NGOs and are setting up false narratives against the government. Addressing a rally for BJP Konkan Graduates constituency candidate Niranjan Davkhare in the MLC polls, he asked NDA functionaries to be alert and not smug like in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls, which the ruling alliance was expected to win resoundingly but ended up with an underwhelming performance. "Naxals are not just in Gadchiroli. Urban Naxals have entered NGOs and have systematically set up false narratives against the government. While not all NGOs are problematic, some are clearly anti-government. They actively spread falsehoods about our (ruling) alliance," Shinde said. Attacking the opposition parties, he said their efforts to undermine the achievements of the NDA government at the Centre failed in the Lok Sabha polls. "Our mandate is secure and Narendra Modi is prime minister for a third term. Their (opposition)

Karnataka fuel price hike: Rates still lower than Andhra, Maharashtra

The Congress-ruled Karnataka government's move to raise local tax on auto fuels pushed petrol prices above Rs 100 a litre and diesel to Rs 89, but rates are lower than neighbouring Andhra Pradesh which has the costliest fuel in the country, oil industry data showed. The Karnataka government on June 15 hiked local VAT (value added tax) from 25.92 per cent to 29.84 per cent on petrol and from 14.3 per cent to 18.4 per cent on diesel. This led to petrol price now costing Rs 102.86 per litre in Bengaluru and diesel coming for Rs 88.94 a litre. But the rates in Karnataka are still lower than neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. TDP-BJP combine ruled Andhra Pradesh has the costliest petrol at Rs 109.87 a litre, followed by Left Democratic Front (LDF)-ruled Kerala, where a litre of petrol comes for Rs 107.54. Congress-run Telangana is close behind with petrol costing Rs 107.39 a litre. BJP-ruled states are not far behind -- petrol costs Rs 106.45 a litre in Bhopal, Rs 105.16 in P

Firing at Salman Khan's residence: Mumbai Police registers new case

The Mumbai Police have registered a new case in connection with firing outside actor Salman Khan's residence here in April and arrested one person from Rajasthan on charges of criminal intimidation, an official said on Sunday. The accused has been identified as Banwarilal Laturlal Gujar (25), hailing from Bundi in Rajasthan, the crime branch official said. Gurjar had allegedly uploaded a video on his YouTube channel in which he said "Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar and other gang members are with me and I am going to kill Salman Khan as he did not apologise yet", the official said. The accused made the video on a highway in Rajasthan and uploaded it on his channel. Considering the seriousness of the case, a team was sent to Rajasthan for an investigation and it apprehended the accused, the official said, adding the case has been registered at a cyber police station in Mumbai. "We are checking if accused Gujar having any previous criminal background. He has been arrested under relevan

Dharavi project: No land to Adani group, transfer to Maharashtra govt dept

The multi-crore Dharavi slum redevelopment project involves no land transfer to the Adani group but to the Maharashtra government's departments, and the Ahmedabad-based conglomerate, as a project developer, will build houses that will be handed over to the same departments for allotment to residents of Asia's biggest slums, sources said. Denying allegations of land grab made by MP Varsha Gaikwad, sources close to the project said land parcels are to be transferred only to Dharavi Redevelopment Project/Slum Rehabilitation Authority (DRP/SRA) of the state government's housing department. Adani Group, which won the Dharavi slum redevelopment project in open international bidding, will build tenements - housing and commercials - through its joint venture company Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Ltd (DRPPL) with the Maharashtra government, again hand them over to DRP/SRA of the Maharashtra government for allocation as per survey findings. Trying to clear misconceptions over the ...

MVA's Lok Sabha election victory is beginning, not end, says Uddhav

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said the victory of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra is the beginning and not the end, and expressed confidence that the opposition alliance will win the upcoming assembly elections in the state. Thackeray, whose party is a constituent of the MVA, was addressing a joint press conference of the MVA members in south Mumbai, where NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan also spoke. The three parties also held a preliminary meeting for the state assembly polls scheduled later this year. Thackeray said people of the state showed how hollow the myth of Bharatiya Janata Party's invincibility is. "Lok Sabha poll victory for Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is not the end, it is the beginning," the former chief minister said. Congress leader Chavan said after the Lok Sabha poll results, change of government was imminent in Maharashtra. Taking a swipe at the prime minister, Pawar sai

Pune Porsche case: Aunt of accused files plea seeking release of juvenile

The petition, filed in Bombay High Court on June 10, came up for hearing before a division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande on Friday

Looking to contest 20 assembly seats in Maha, says BJP-Sena ally Kadu

Prahar Janashakti Party (PJP) chief Omprakash Kadu on Thursday said his outfit, an ally of the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP coalition, was looking to contest 20 of the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra where state polls are due in October. Kadu, whose outfit is a part of the ruling Mahayuti but still fielded its candidate against BJP's Navneet Rana in the Amravati Lok Sabha seat, said the PJP is assessing whether it can contest 20 seats independently or with an alliance with another outfit. "We are strong in 20 seats and we are working on it over the last one year. We have started preparations. With whom we will contest the seats will be decided later. We will be assessing whether we can contest the 20 seats independently or with someone," Kadu said. The former state minister informed the party is planning to soon hold a conclave of its workers at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in central Maharashtra to discuss the issue. Asked whether he will quit the Mahayuti, he said, "There is no ...

Gear up for Maha assembly polls to ensure victory: Goyal urges BJP cadres

Senior BJP leader and Union minister Piyush Goyal has said that active participation of party members was crucial to start preparing for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls to fix shortcomings in the party system. He also emphasised the importance of encouraging people to come out and vote, given the low response in the recently held Lok Sabha elections. "I am confident that the (party) system will be better ahead of the next state polls. If we start making efforts now, there will be no shortcomings ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections that will be held in the next 3-4 months," Goyal said during a public function late Wednesday evening. "We need to encourage people again to come out and vote. This time, we need to win all the six assembly seats under the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat," the Union Commerce Minister said. Of the six assembly constituencies under the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat, the BJP won four in the 2019 elections, while the Shiv Sena and Congress bagged ..

Maha claims injustice to state students in NEET results; seeks cancellation

The Maharashtra government has sought immediate cancellation of the last month's NEET exam, alleging that its results have caused injustice to the students from the state. Several aspirants of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG), conducted on May 5 at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, have earlier alleged that inflation of marks has led to a record 67 candidates bagging the top rank, including six from the same exam centre in Haryana. The results of the exam were declared on June 4. The National Testing Agency (NTA), however, denied any irregularities and said the changes made in the NCERT textbooks and grace marks for losing time at the examination centres are some of the reasons behind the students scoring higher marks. Talking about the issue, Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif on Friday said, "The NEET exams were probably conducted after taking money. The results are such that no student of Maharashtra will get admission for the MBBS course in ...

One injured, 30 rescued in major fire at high-rise in Mumbai's Byculla

A 57-year-old man was injured while 25 to 30 persons were rescued after a fire broke out in a 62-storey residential building in south Mumbai's Byculla area around midnight, officials said on Sunday. The blaze erupted in a flat on the 10th floor of the Monte South building's A wing in the Khatao Mill Compound in Byculla at 11.42 pm on Saturday, a fire official said, adding smoke filled the entire floor. Some persons were stranded on the upper floors of the building, he said. The official said 25 to 30 persons were rescued through the staircase. A man, identified as Pandurang Shinde, was injured, he said. It was a "level-2" blaze which was confined to the electric wiring and installations, wooden furniture, household articles, wardrobe, mattresses, wooden beds, sofas, curtains, electronic appliances, false ceilings, doors, windows and modular kitchen of the 10th floor flat and curtains, window glass, etc of an apartment on the 11th floor, the official said. Eight water tankers and

Pune case: Will overhaul hospital system to make it foolproof, says Mushrif

Maharashtra minister Hasan Mushrif has promised to make the system at civil hospitals foolproof, an assurance coming in the wake of alleged manipulation of blood samples at Pune's Sassoon hospital in connection with the Porsche crash. The medical education minister was speaking to reporters in Mumbai on Thursday. Police have arrested Dr Ajay Taware, then head of the department of forensic medicine at Sassoon, medical officer Dr Shrihari Halnor and staffer Atul Ghatkamble for allegedly swapping the blood samples of the teenager, who police say was driving the Porsche. According to police, the minor driver was drunk at the time of the incident which resulted in the death of two IT professionals in the early hours of May 19 in Kalyani Nagar area of Pune city. The police found that Dr Ajay Taware was on leave on the night of the Pune accident and he got a call from someone. He accepted Rs 3 lakh, called Dr Halnor to manipulate the blood samples. This was absolutely wrong, Mushrif ...

Pune Porsche crash: Mother of teen appeals to cops to safeguard son

The mother of the 17-year-old boy who allegedly fatally knocked down two persons with his high-end car has appealed to the police to protect her son after a video purportedly featuring him, boasting about how he got away with the accident, went viral. In a video message, the teen's mother stressed that the clip had nothing to do with her son and that it was fake. The video which is being circulated is not of my son. That is a fake video. My son is in the detention centre, says the teen's mother in her message. Appealing to the police to protect her son, the mother breaks down, shows her video message. Unable to gather herself, she then walks away from the camera. A rap song purportedly featuring the teenager, boasting about how he got away with the car crash, went viral on social media, but Pune police have clarified that it was a fake account and that the teenager had no role in the video. Later, it was found that the rap video was of a social media influencer. A Porsche, allege

Illegal hoardings in Maha: 15 cases lodged; billboards, banners removed

As many as 15 cases pertaining to illegal hoardings have been registered in Maharashtra's Latur city, including 11 on a single day, civic officials said. The Latur Municipal Corporation authorities removed two hoardings and 15 banners from the city on Monday, they said. The action was taken against the backdrop of the collapse of an illegal hoarding in Mumbai on May 13, which claimed 16 lives and injured several others. The Latur civic body had given a deadline till Sunday for the removal of illegal hoardings from the city, an official release said on Monday. After the deadline ended, 11 cases related to illegal hoardings were registered on Monday, it said. Since last week (after the hoarding crash incident in Mumbai), a total of 15 cases have been registered, the civic body said. Deputy municipal commissioner Dr Punjab Khansole recently held a meeting with the officials concerned and instructed them to accelerate the process and file cases against violators. The corporation had

LS polls: Contest in Kalyan prestige battle for Maharashtra CM Shinde's son

Shrikant Shinde had comfortably won the Kalyan Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra in the last two elections, but the stakes are higher this time as his father, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, now heads a truncated faction of the Shiv Sena following a bitter split in the party. The constituency, part of the Thane district and close to Mumbai, contains densely populated urban areas and industrial belts. It will go to polls on May 20. Shrikant Shinde entered politics in 2014, contesting as a candidate of the then undivided Shiv Sena and won with a margin of 2,50,749 votes. He increased the margin to 3,44,343 in the 2019 general elections. But the political scenario has changed drastically since then, as his father rebelled against party chief Uddhav Thackeray and walked away to join hands with the BJP to become chief minister in June 2022. Uncertainty surrounded Shrikant Shinde's candidature this time as the BJP sensed the possibility of contesting more seats in Maharashtra, and its leader a

Hoarding collapse: DDMA orders removal of 8 oversized hoardings in Dadar

The District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) for Mumbai on Friday directed the Government Railway Police (GRP) commissioner to remove eight oversized hoardings installed by Ego Media Private Limited in Dadar area as they "may endanger the lives of general public," an official said. A hoarding installed by Ego Media collapsed on a petrol pump in Ghatkopar on May 13, killing 16 people and injuring more than 75. The official said that DDMA chaired by additional municipal commissioner Ashwini Joshi issued a notice to GRP commissioner and directed him to remove within three days eight hoardings on GRP premises. "It is noticed that, there are eight other oversized hoardings (i.e. more than (40ft x 40ft) erected on Government Railway Police premises within the Western Railway-jurisdiction of Railways, which are erected not in consonance with the policy of BMC i.e. (in terms of) location, size, type, structural audit etc," the notice read.

GRP allowed Bhinde's firm to erect four illegal hoardings in 2021: Somaiya

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya on Friday claimed that the Government Railway Police (GRP) had granted permission in 2021 for four more illegal hoardings in Mumbai to the advertising firm involved in the Ghatkopar billboard collapse. Somaiya said these hoardings have been installed at the Railway Police Colony near Tilak Bridge, Dadar. Four more hoardings illegal permission was given by GRP Railway Police of Maharashtra Govt to Bhavesh Bhinde EGO Media in 2021 (sic), Somaiya said in a post on X. Bhavesh Bhinde, director of M/s Ego Media Pvt. Ltd., which had put up the giant hoarding that collapsed in suburban Ghatkopar killing 16 people and injuring 75 was nabbed from Rajasthan and brought to the city early on Friday. The illegal 125 feet x 125 feet hoarding, which stood on a piece of land in possession of the GRP, crashed onto a petrol pump in the Chheda Nagar area on Monday evening when the city was hit by dust storms and unseasonal rains. Ex-MP Somaiya had alleged on Thursday that no

Handover the land for Bombay High Court building by September, says SC

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Maharashtra government to strive to handover by the end of September the first tranche of land for construction of a new Bombay High Court building. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud asserted that the state authorities need not wait till the end of the year to handover the entire land and smaller areas can be given as they become available. "We direct the Maharashtra government to make all endeavour to hand over the first tranche of land of 9.64 acre by the end of September 2024. The government of Maharashtra need not wait till December to handover the entire 9.64 acre and smaller areas could be handed over. All endeavour be made for 9.64 acre to be handed over by September 30, 2024," the court said. The top court was hearing a case under its suo motu (on its own) jurisdiction, initiated after taking note of an April 29 letter petition of Bombay Bar Association president Nitin Thakker and other bar leaders with respect to