Amid rumblings in the opposition INDIA alliance, the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Monday said the coalition has been formed to unseat the dictatorial regime at the Centre while politics in states is different. An editorial in the Sena (UBT) mouthpiece 'Saamana' also said the assembly polls scheduled this month in five states is a "dress rehearsal" for the Lok Sabha polls next year. It said the Congress is a major party in all the five poll-bound states - Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram. It is important for the Congress to win polls to stop the misuse of power and arrogance of money. This will be crucial for the INDIA alliance, the editorial said. It expressed confidence that the INDIA alliance will win the Lok Sabha polls in 2024. The Marathi daily said the concerns of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are valid. Last week, Kumar blamed the Congress' preoccupation with assembly polls in five states for the INDIA coalition's inability to build on the momentum
Analogous to the diverse sides of a cube, the quota conundrum in Maharashtra presents a complex puzzle
Raut also claimed that 16 MLAs who were part of the split in Shiv Sena almost a year back are going to be "disqualified"
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Leaders at an all-party meeting on Maratha quota chaired by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday passed a resolution asking activist Manoj Jarange to call off his indefinite fast. The Maharashtra government is in favour of the Maratha quota, CM Shinde said after the meeting in Mumbai. Activist Jarange should cooperate with the government in ensuring quota for the Maratha community he said. The CM said Marathas should observe restraint. The government needs time for legal modalities to implement the reservation, Shinde said. The resolution was signed by CM Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, NCP president Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Vijay Wadettiwar, LoP in the legislative council Ambadas Danve, among others. Incidents of violence have been witnessed in many parts of the state in the last few days. State-run bus services have been completely suspended in five Marathwada districts while curfew and In
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Vinayak Raut has written a letter to President Droupadi Murmu, seeking time to meet her and demand a special session of Parliament to discuss the issue of reservation for Maratha and Dhangar communities. The letter, dated October 31, states that an 11-member delegation led by Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut wants to meet the president on November 5 or 6. Marathas are demanding reservation in government jobs and education under the OBC category, while the Dhangar (shepherd) community wants the ST (Scheduled Tribe) status. On Tuesday, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray demanded a special session of Parliament and said that the issue can be resolved by the Centre. He said all Union ministers from Maharashtra should raise the reservation issue in the cabinet meeting. Thackeray also urged the Union ministers to resign if the (Maratha reservation) demand is not met. Incidents of violence erupted in parts of Maharashtra over the past few days with the Ma
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has called an all-party meeting on Wednesday to discuss the situation in the state amid the intensified Maratha quota agitation which took a violent turn in some parts of the state, but Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray has not been invited for the meet. An official in the Chief Minister's Office said Shinde will apprise opposition leaders of the government's plans to handle the situation and seek their support. Incidents of violence were witnessed in many parts of the state in the last few days. State-run bus services have been completely suspended in five Marathwada districts while curfew and Internet shut-down have been imposed in parts of Beed where the houses of political leaders were targeted by protesters. The CM has appealed to people not to resort to violence and also asked political parties to avoid indulging in any activities that would worsen the situation. The Maharashtra government published an order on Tuesday ...
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The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on October 30 pleas filed by the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena and the Sharad Pawar bloc of the NCP, seeking a direction to the Maharashtra assembly speaker to expeditiously decide disqualification petitions against some MLAs. A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud is scheduled to take up two separate pleas filed by both the factions. The Supreme Court is set to reopen after a week-long Dussehra holiday. On October 17, the top court granted assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar a final opportunity to give it a realistic time-frame for deciding the cross-petitions filed by the rival factions of the Shiv Sena seeking disqualification of each other's MLAs following a split in the party. "The narration of facts indicates that the first batch of petitions is pending since June and July 2022. The judgment of the Constitution Bench was delivered on May 11, 2023. The disqualification petitions have to be adjudicated upon with all ...
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"He (Eknath Shinde) is saying all this because of the support that Uddhav Thackeray is getting," Congress added
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday claimed that Uddhav Thackeray nurtured the ambition to become the CM since 2004 but things didn't work out. Addressing the annual Dussehra rally of Shiv Sena led by him at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, Shinde also disclosed that two persons were sent to NCP chief Sharad Pawar to recommend Thackeray's name for the post of chief minister. "It was his (Uddhav's) wish to become the CM since 2004 but the 'jugaad' didn't work out. He pretended that he was never interested in the post. It was said publicly that he accepted the responsibility (after the 2019 assembly elections) on the advice of Sharad Pawar. But the fact is that two persons were sent to Pawar to recommend his (Uddhav's) name for the post," Shinde said. After the elections, he jumped in the chair of the chief minister, added Shinde, who was a cabinet minister in the erstwhile MVA government led by Thackeray. "They (Uddhav) wear many masks and do things subtly with a straigh
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said the country needs a strong government but not of "one party with brute majority", and batted for a coalition rule. Speaking at his party's annual Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park in central Mumbai, he said when the "chair" (of ruler) is unstable, the country becomes strong. Thackeray, who is part of the Opposition's INDIA bloc, advocated a "mili-juli sarkar' (coalition government) which can take everyone along, and cited the examples of governments under Manmohan Singh, P V Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. There was a time when Sena founder and his father late Bal Thackeray said that the country needed a strong government, Uddhav recalled. "We have seen a strong government for nine years now. Have the issues of the people been resolved? There should be a strong government, but not of any one party with a brute majority," he added, targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), his friend-turned-foe. The BJP or (its ...
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader reiterated the INDIA bloc's claim of "Chinese occupation" on a piece of Indian land in Ladakh
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said the annual Dussehra rally held at the Shivaji Park in Mumbai has been a tradition and is a legacy of more than five decades, and claimed it is only a Thackeray who gives the vision and road map for Maharashtra and the country from the venue. Talking to reporters, Raut further claimed that Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray's speech at the Dussehra rally will be the "beginning of a change" in the state and at the national level in 2024. The Rajya Sabha termed the Dussehra rally to be organised by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as "duplicate", claiming it is acceptable only to "duplicate people in the BJP". Sena (UBT) head and former chief minister Thackeray will address the Dussehra rally at the iconic Shivaji Park in Dadar area here on Tuesday, while the CM Shinde-led Shiv Sena has finalised the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai for holding its rally. The Lok Sabha elections and the Maharashtra assembly polls are due next year. "Uddhav ...
Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar on Friday decided to club the cross-petitions filed by the rival Shiv Sena factions seeking disqualification of each other's MLAs after a split in the party last year, and hear them together, an opposition legislator said after attending a hearing on the matter. He gave time till October 25 to the ruling Shiv Sena headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the rival faction led by former CM Uddhav Thackeray to submit their written replies to the petitions submitted by them to the speaker's office, said the legislator. Sunil Prabhu, an MLA of the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT), said the speaker has decided to club all disqualification petitions and hear them together. The next hearing will take place on October 26, he said. The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction had earlier demanded that all the cross-petitions petitions be heard together so that the proceedings are concluded expeditiously. This demand was, however, opposed by the Shinde-led Shiv ..
The Supreme Court Tuesday granted Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar a final opportunity to give it a realistic time-frame for deciding the cross-petitions filed by the rival factions of the Shiv Sena seeking disqualification of each other's MLAs following a split in the party. The court said the disqualification petitions have to be adjudicated expeditiously. A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud noted the submission of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that he will personally engage with the speaker during Dussehra vacation and indicate a firm set of modalities. "We are not satisfied with the time schedule. SG has apprised that during Dussehra breaks he would personally engage with the speaker so as to indicate a firm set of modalities," the bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said while posting the matter for hearing on October 30. The apex court had earlier come down hard on the speaker over the delay in deciding the pleas filed by the .
Sanjay Raut further said that the concerned Minister should be asked what was he doing for 6 months and the government should ask for his resignation
The Supreme Court on Friday came down hard on the Maharashtra assembly speaker for the delay in deciding the plea for disqualification of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and several MLAs, saying the speaker cannot defeat the orders of the top court. Somebody has to advise the Speaker that he cannot defeat the orders of the Supreme Court, a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said and asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to apprise the court about the timeline for deciding the issue. A visibly irked CJI said decision on disqualification pleas has to be taken before next assembly elections or the whole process will become infructuous. The bench said if it is not satisfied with the timeline of the Speaker then it would direct that the decision be taken within two months. The writ of this court has to run when there is a decision contrary to the Constitution of India, the bench said, indicating that it may hear the plea on Monday or Tuesday. On September 18, the top court had
Maharashtra legislative assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar on Wednesday said he has rescheduled the next hearing on the disqualification petitions filed against each other by two rival Shiv Sena factions to an earlier date, and it will now be held on Thursday instead of Friday. Narwekar last month began hearing the disqualification petitions filed by the two rival Sena factions led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray. The first hearing was held on September 14. Talking to reporters here, the assembly speaker said, "The (next) hearing on the disqualification pleas was scheduled to take place on Friday. But since I have to attend the G20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit (P20) in Delhi on that day, I have advanced the schedule of the hearing. It will now be held on Thursday instead of Friday." "I could have fixed a later date for the hearing, but I did not because I did not want to delay the hearing any further. I want to take a decision at the earliest over