The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) on Sunday announced a protest in Delhi against the collection of registration fees from pilgrims intending to visit the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir. The registration process for the two-month Amarnath Yatra started last month. The annual pilgrimage is scheduled to start on July 1 from the twin tracks -- the traditional 48-kilometre Nunwan-Pahalgam route in the Anantnag district and the 14-kilometre shorter but steeper Baltal route in the Ganderbal district. "We are going to stage a protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi in the next few days as part of our ongoing agitation to press for free registration of the pilgrims," the party's Jammu and Kashmir unit chief Manish Sahni told reporters here. Several senior party leaders, religious heads and social and political activists are also joining the protest for the withdrawal of the registration fee. "We appeal to the (Jammu and Kashmir) Lt Governor and the shrine board not to charge
Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has claimed it was necessary to get NCP leader Ajit Pawar's support in 2019 to teach a lesson to Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, in an apparent reference to the alliance formed by BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis and Pawar at that time. The Devendra Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar government formed in a hush-hush ceremony in November 2019 after the state Assembly elections had lasted for three days. Later, Uddhav Thackeray became the chief minister of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which comprised his party, the NCP and the Congress. Thackeray had snapped ties with long-term ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the issue of sharing the chief ministerial post. "The kind of new political arrangement Uddhav Thackeray brought in at that time, to teach Thackeray a lesson it was necessary to get support from NCP's Ajit Pawar, BJP leader Mungantiwar told Loksatta newspaper on Saturday. Asked about the BJP leader's comments, Fadnavis said, I hav
Without mincing words, Thackeray said that the trend of "activists of political parties or organisations like the RSS who are named as Governors" is lowering the dignity of this important post"
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday demanded that Maharashtra's Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar take a decision on the disqualification of 16 MLAs at the earliest. He made the demand a day after the Supreme Court gave its verdict on last year's political crisis that resulted in the collapse of the three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by him following a rebellion by Eknath Shinde, who later joined hands with the BJP to become the chief minister. Thackeray's party colleague Anil Parab said they will write to Speaker Nawerkar urging him to take a call on the matter at the earliest. The gift of life to the 16 MLAs is temporary because the Supreme Court has given a reasonable time' and it has limitations. The Speaker must take his decision at the earliest, Thackeray said. The Supreme Court on Thursday held that it cannot restore the MVA government led by Thackeray as he resigned without facing a floor test in June last year. It has asked the Speaker to decide
In the Delhi government vs L-G case, the court said, Delhi government has legislative and executive powers over the administration of services except for public order, police, and land
Devendra Fadnavis expresses satisfaction at judgment; Uddhav Thackeray asks Chief Minister Shinde to quit
SC said that the 2016 Nabam Rebia case, which held that the Speaker cannot initiate disqualification proceedings when a resolution seeking his removal is pending, requires reference to larger bench
The verdict will be announced by a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav will meet Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray during their Mumbai visit on Thursday, a JD (U) MLC said. The duo will visit Thackeray's residence and later meet Pawar at his home. Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar has been meeting Opposition leaders to strengthen the bloc against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He met his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday in Bhubaneswar. Kumar and Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) leader Yadav will have lunch at Matoshree, the private residence of Uddhav Thackeray in suburban Bandra, said JD (U) MLC Kapil Patil. They will meet Pawar at his south Mumbai residence 'Silver Oak' in the evening, he added. Kumar had caught the national imagination with his pitch for a united opposition which, he believes, can take on and defeat the BJP in next year's Lok Sabha polls. The JD(U) supre
Tomorrow we have two Constitution Bench judgments to deliver, said CJI
Bihar Chief Minister, and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav will meet Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray during their Mumbai visit on Thursday, a JD (U) MLC said. The duo will visit Thackeray's residence and later meet Pawar at his home. The Janata Dal (United) supreme leader has been meeting Opposition leaders to strengthen the bloc against BJP ahead of the 2024 polls. He met his Odisha couterpart Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday in Bhubaneswar. Kumar and Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) leader Yadav will have lunch at Matoshree, the private residence of Uddhav Thackeray in suburban Bandra, said JD (U) MLC Kapil Patil. They will meet Pawar at his south Mumbai residence 'Silver Oak' in the evening, he added. Kumar had caught the national imagination with his pitch for a united opposition which, he believes, can take on and defeat the BJP in next year's Lok Sabha polls. The JD(U) supreme leader, who had stunned the BJP last year when he .
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said the proposed oil refinery in Barsu in coastal Ratnagiri district should be moved to Gujarat and good investment projects from the neighbouring state be brought to Maharashtra. Interacting with villagers at Barsu, Thackeray said the government should hold a dialogue with locals before coming up with any project. A section of locals is opposing the refinery on the grounds that it will adversely affect the fragile biodiversity of the coastal Konkan region and also hit their livelihood. The Vedanta-Foxconn and Tata-Airbus are gone. Take this project to Gujarat and get good projects back to Maharashtra, Thackeray said. Thackeray said when he was the chief minister, similar protests had taken place while building the Samruddhi highway. But we struck a dialogue with protesters. We worked out a way without hampering development, Thackeray said. Earlier, Thackeray had planned to hold a rally in Barsu-Solgaon area earlier but was denie
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday termed the criticism of Uddhav Thackeray in Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar's autobiography wrong information and downplayed it by claiming books are read for two days and then put into libraries. He also said Thackeray would soon respond to what has been written about him in the book. In his revised autobiography Lok Majhe Sangati', which focuses on events post-2015 and was released on Tuesday, Pawar wrote it was difficult to fathom why Thackeray as chief minister chose to visit Mantralaya, the state secretariat in south Mumbai, only twice during the coronavirus pandemic. This is wrong information. He (Thackeray) was regularly going to office. His visits (to Mantralaya) reduced during coronavirus pandemic because there was a central government directive to work from home, Raut said, adding that the prime minister, Union ministers and other chief ministers too were not going to office during the pandemic. In his book, .
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday said his father Bal Thackeray was disenfranchised for seeking votes in the name of religion, but PM Narendra Modi is using the Jai Bajrang bali' slogan to seek votes in Karnataka. May be election law provisions have changed now, Uddhav told reporters here. Modi on Wednesday urged the people of Karnataka to say 'Jai Bajrang bali' when they cast their vote to "punish" the Congress, as BJP leaders stepped up attack on the opposition party over its election manifesto promise of banning the Bajrang Dal. Bal Thackeray was banned from exercising his franchise in the late nineties for six years after he was found indulging in "corrupt practice by seeking votes in the name of religion" at a public rally. If Modi is saying Jai Bajrang bali, then I am also appealing to Marathi-speaking people in Karnataka to chant Jai Bhavani Jai Shivaji and vote, Uddhav said.
Uddhav Thackeray, who heads a faction of the Shiv Sena, on Thursday expressed confidence that Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar's decision to step down as the party chief will not dent the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance. Addressing a press conference here, the former Maharashtra chief minister said he will not do anything that hurt the opposition's unity. Thackeray also said he was not opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but was against dictatorship. "The developments in NCP won't dent the MVA," Thackeray said. He, however, declined to comment on Pawar's decision to step down as the party chief. Pawar on Tuesday announced his decision to step down as the NCP president, which has jolted his party and the opposition alliance. The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), NCP and Congress are partners in the MVA. The government headed by this alliance ruled Maharashtra from November 2019 to June 2022.
The Sena-UBT chief attacked the state government for its series of advertisements splurging public money and said that no government in the state had resorted to so much publicity
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray on Monday asked why PM Narendra Modi is silent on the abuse hurled against him and his family members. Modi said Congress abused him 91 times. But why are you silent when your people abuse me and my family, Thackeray said, addressing the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi rally in Mumbai. Their abusive language shows their culture, he said. I am asking the RSS: do you accept such an offspring (BJP), he added. Thackeray referred to the criticism he has faced for aligning with Congress and NCP. When I go with Congress and NCP, they (BJP) claim that I have forsaken Hindutva. If that is the case, then what about (RSS chief) Mohan Bhagwat's visit to a mosque, he said. Thackeray said he will visit Barsu, the site of the proposed refinery in Ratnagiri district, on May 6. I will go there and talk to the locals. How can you stop me? This is not POK, he said. Yes, I suggested the site for the refinery when I was the CM, but my letter (to Modi) did not spec
The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Friday demanded free registration and highway toll exemption for Amarnath pilgrims. The registration for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage began on April 17. The 62-day pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in south Kashmir is scheduled to start on July 1. Manish Sahni, the president of the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Shiv Sena (UBT), said it was unfortunate that there was no positive response to their demands even after repeated representations to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta. "If there is no positive response to our demands for free registration for pilgrims and toll exemption for their vehicles within a week, a nationwide agitation will be launched," he told reporters here.
Amid protests against a proposed oil refinery in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district, state Industries Minister Uday Samant on Tuesday said the current site for the mega project was suggested by then-CM Uddhav Thackeray, while the Opposition urged the government to stop soil survey work and be sensitive in handling the situation arising out of the agitation. Samant's statement came in the backdrop of protests by local people in the coastal district against the soil survey work for the multi-billion dollar project over environmental damage concerns. In a fresh agitation, more than 30 women were detained by the police after they protested by lying on the road to stop government vehicles from entering the project site at Barsu village, around 400km from Mumbai, while the Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) demanded an immediate end to atrocities on protesters. Samant alleged "misunderstandings" are being deliberately created about the project for political mileage and slammed the "politics of doub
With the Uddhav Thackeray faction's plea, challenging last year's change of guard in Maharashtra, pending arbitration in the Supreme Court, the former Maharashtra chief minister on Sunday said