News Analysis India

Tag: Balasaheb Thorat

  • Nasik MLC poll: Congress candidate refuses to file papers; son to contest in Maharashtra

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI:  In an embarrassment for the Congress and its Legislature Party leader and former revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat, his brother-in-law Dr Sudhir Tambe refused to file his nomination at the eleventh hour even after the official declaration of his candidature for biennial elections to the Maharashtra legislative council for Nasik Division Graduates constituency. 

    Dr Sudhir Tambe’s son Satyajit Tambe, former Maharashtra Youth Congress president, filed his nomination as an independent candidate in his father’s place, claiming the support of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi. However, state Congress chief Nana Patole said he was not aware of the changes in candidates. State BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the party has not officially declared its candidate in Nasik, but it could extend support to Satyajit Tambe, if he seeks BJP support.

    “Earlier in the day, the Congress had declared Dr Sudhir Tambe as the candidate for the biennial polls. He was also given the form to attach along with other papers. “I am surprised why he did not file his nomination and instead his son did. I will seek a detailed report,” Patole said. Sources said the twist in the Nasik Division Graduate elections shows that all is not well in the Balasaheb Thorat family.

    “Things were clear from the day of Satyajit Tambe’s book release functions by Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis in the presence of Balasaheb Thorat and other eminent leaders. In the function, Fadnavis warned that if young leaders like Satyajit were not given space in the Congress, then the BJP was ready to accept him. The seeds of the split in the Thorat family were sown in this function, but Thorat was confident that his brother-in-law would not revolt. “The drama has just begun, it will unfold now,” said a person close to both Thorat and Tambe.

    Sources said that fissures in the Tambe family started showing when Balasaheb Thorat started promoting his daughter Dr Jayshree in his constituency Sangamner. “Satyajit Tambe thought that in the 2024 State assembly polls, Balasaheb Thorat will not contest, instead his daughter will. The dynastic promotion by his maternal uncle will end his political career at a young age.

    Therefore, an insecure Tambe family saw biennial elections as a major opportunity to revolt against Thorat and establish Satyajit leadership with the help of the BJP,” said a senior Congress leader. Balasaheb Thorat refused to speak on the development. “This development will surely erode Balasaheb’s growing influence in the Congress,” said a party source.

    How Uddhav lost his govt  The biennial elections have given many shocks and surprises. The Uddhav Thackeray govt lost the trust in his govt in the biennial polls. In this election, BJP won all five seats while MVA won five and lost one against the BJP despite having the numbers. BJP later toppled the Uddhav govt with the help of Eknath Shinde.

    MUMBAI:  In an embarrassment for the Congress and its Legislature Party leader and former revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat, his brother-in-law Dr Sudhir Tambe refused to file his nomination at the eleventh hour even after the official declaration of his candidature for biennial elections to the Maharashtra legislative council for Nasik Division Graduates constituency. 

    Dr Sudhir Tambe’s son Satyajit Tambe, former Maharashtra Youth Congress president, filed his nomination as an independent candidate in his father’s place, claiming the support of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi. However, state Congress chief Nana Patole said he was not aware of the changes in candidates. State BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the party has not officially declared its candidate in Nasik, but it could extend support to Satyajit Tambe, if he seeks BJP support.

    “Earlier in the day, the Congress had declared Dr Sudhir Tambe as the candidate for the biennial polls. He was also given the form to attach along with other papers. “I am surprised why he did not file his nomination and instead his son did. I will seek a detailed report,” Patole said. Sources said the twist in the Nasik Division Graduate elections shows that all is not well in the Balasaheb Thorat family.

    “Things were clear from the day of Satyajit Tambe’s book release functions by Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis in the presence of Balasaheb Thorat and other eminent leaders. In the function, Fadnavis warned that if young leaders like Satyajit were not given space in the Congress, then the BJP was ready to accept him. The seeds of the split in the Thorat family were sown in this function, but Thorat was confident that his brother-in-law would not revolt. “The drama has just begun, it will unfold now,” said a person close to both Thorat and Tambe.

    Sources said that fissures in the Tambe family started showing when Balasaheb Thorat started promoting his daughter Dr Jayshree in his constituency Sangamner. “Satyajit Tambe thought that in the 2024 State assembly polls, Balasaheb Thorat will not contest, instead his daughter will. The dynastic promotion by his maternal uncle will end his political career at a young age.

    Therefore, an insecure Tambe family saw biennial elections as a major opportunity to revolt against Thorat and establish Satyajit leadership with the help of the BJP,” said a senior Congress leader. Balasaheb Thorat refused to speak on the development. “This development will surely erode Balasaheb’s growing influence in the Congress,” said a party source.

    How Uddhav lost his govt  
    The biennial elections have given many shocks and surprises. The Uddhav Thackeray govt lost the trust in his govt in the biennial polls. In this election, BJP won all five seats while MVA won five and lost one against the BJP despite having the numbers. BJP later toppled the Uddhav govt with the help of Eknath Shinde.

  • Maharashtra government capable of dealing with those who disturb social harmony: Balasaheb Thorat on loudspeaker row

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Amid a call given by MNS chief Raj Thackeray to play Hanuman Chalisa outside mosques if ‘azaans’ are played on loudspeakers, senior Congress leader and Maharashtra minister Balasaheb Thorat on Wednesday said the government was capable of dealing with those who disturb social harmony.

    Replying to a question on Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president’s defiant stand on the issue of loudspeakers, Thorat told reporters that nobody can give an ultimatum to the government.

    He said the ruling MVA works to maintain law and order and the rule of the law.

    “For some people, it is not loudspeakers but politics over it is important. The government is not on the back-foot. We are capable of dealing with those who want to disturb social harmony,” the Congress leader said.

    In his Aurangabad rally held on Sunday, Raj Thackeray had reiterated that if mosques use loudspeakers for ‘azaan’ (prayer call), then Hanuman Chalisa will be played outside them at a higher volume.

  • Hills in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar named after Swiss-born activist Hermann Bacher

    By PTI

    PUNE: The hills surrounding Kolwade village in central Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district have been named after late Jesuit priest Hermann Bacher who dedicated his life to water conservation and the welfare of underprivileged communities in the state.

    Bacher, known as the father of community-led watershed development in India, died on September 14, 2021 in his native country, Switzerland.

    The announcement about naming was made by state revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat during an event at the village last month, said a release issued on Friday by the Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR), a non-profit co-founded by Father Bacher.

    Maharashtra environment minister Aaditya Thackeray was also present at the event. “Father Hermann Bacher worked extensively for watershed development and environment. In his honour, we are naming these hills as Hermann Hills,” Thorat had tweeted later.

    An Indophile, Bacher spent about 60 years in India, working on water management, especially in drought-prone areas. He had also launched the Indo-German Watershed Development Programme (IGWDP) in Maharashtra to find and develop new water resources.

  • RS bypoll: Maharashtra Congress leaders urge Fadnavis to withdraw BJP candidate

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole and state Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat met Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday to urge the opposition BJP to withdraw its candidate and ensure the Congress nominee gets elected unopposed in the next month’s bpoll to a Rajya Sabha seat from the state.

    The by-election was necessitated due to the death of sitting Congress MP Rajiv Satav in May this year.

    The Congress, which shares power with the Shiv Sena and NCP in Maharashtra, has fielded Rajni Patil, while the BJP has nominated Sanjay Upadhyay for the bypoll, to be held on October 4,.

    “Thorat and Patole met Fadnavis to persuade the BJP to withdraw its candidate and facilitate unopposed win of the Congress candidate,” a Congress source said.

    The scrutiny of nomination papers will be done on Thursday and the last date of withdrawal is September 27.

    Voting, if neccessary, will be on October 4 and counting of votes will be done the same day.

    The 288-member Maharashtra Assembly forms the electoral college for the poll.

    The BJP has the highest 106 MLAs in the House, followed by Shiv Sena (56), NCP (53), Congress (43), Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (3), Samajwadi Party (2), AIMIM (2), Prahar Janshakti Party (2), MNS (1), CPM (1), Swambhimani Party (1), Rashtriya Samaj Paksh (1), Krantikari Shetkari Party (1), Peasants and Workers Party (1), Jansurajya Shakti Party (1) and Independents 13.

    One seat is lying vacant since the death of Congress MLA Raosaheb Antapurkar in April this year.

  • Leaders who believe in democratic values should unite under Congress umbrella: Balasaheb Thorat

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra minister Balasaheb Thorat on Sunday said that those political leaders who believe in constitutional and democratic values, should unite under the Congress umbrella, instead of passing critical remarks against it.

    He also said that he did not agree with NCP president Sharad Pawar’s comments against the Congress, likening the grand-old-party to a ‘zamindar’ (landlord) who has lost his land. Thorat said the Congress has never done “zamindari”.

    “The Congress is not just a political party, but a symbol of constitutional and democratic values of the nation,” he said referring to Pawar’s remarks.

    Talking to reporters here, Thorat said instead of passing critical comments against the Congress, leaders with progressive ideology should come under the party umbrella to save the country.

    “Under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Congress will once again rise like a phoenix and no one should have a doubt about this,” he said.

    “Congress is an idea of the nation and voice of the poor, deprived and suppressed people.

    The party has contributed to the nation’s development and helped it emerge as a world power,” he said.

    Thorat accused the BJP of using money power to defame the Congress and topple its governments and win elections by creating hatred in the society.

    Thorat also claimed that if individuals, organisations who believe in democratic and constitutional values want to save the country from divisiveness, inflation, unemployment and sale of national assets, then they should join hands with the Congress since it is the only alternative.

    “Instead of criticising the Congress, all should come under the Congress flag,” he said.

    Congress shares power with NCP in the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

  • Maharashtra Governor against Eknath Khadse’s nomination as MLC

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI:  The standoff in Maharashtra over the appointment of 12 MLCs continued even after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Congress minister Balasaheb Thorat held a meeting with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Wednesday night.

    After the Bombay High Court observed that the governor cannot indefinitely put on hold the appointment of MLCs nominated by the government, Uddhav Thackeray once again sought to push the governor on the appointment of 12 MLCs.

    According to sources, the governor raised objections over two (NCP leader Eknath Khadse and farmer leader Raju Shetti) of the 12 names submitted by the government.

    However, the governor’s office refused to confirm or deny this.  

    Ajit Pawar said he was told that Raju Shetti, who lost in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, cannot be nominated as an MLC through the governor’s quota.

    Pawar pointed out that, however, in 2014, BJP leader Arun Jaitely lost the Lok Sabha polls in Amritsar but was nominated to Rajya Sabha and made the Union finance minister.

    “We are checking various issues so that there should not be any obstructions while appointing these 12 names as MLCs,” Pawar said. 

    The governor also objected to Khadse being made an MLC. 

    “The Pune land case against Eknath Khadse and an ongoing inquiry by Enforcement Directorate against him were cited as the reasons for delay in the approval of 12 names. Besides, Raju Shetti’s name was propped up. However, we have not been told by the governor in writing on specific names and issues. We tried to pursue this issue diligently,” said a senior minister in Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

    Another minister said that the governor has no right to reject the names proposed by the elected government.

    “Ours is an elected government, and so, the governor has no right to interfere and raise objections to any name.”

  • Twitter accounts of Maharashtra Congress, Balasaheb Thorat suspended, claims party leader Satel Patil

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Twitter accounts of the Maharashtra unit of the Congress and its senior leader Balasaheb Thorat have been suspended, Minister of State for Home and IT Satel Patil claimed on Thursday.

    The ruling BJP at the Centre is scared and dictating terms to the social media platform, he alleged in a series of tweets.

    “I strongly condemn the suspension of Twitter accounts of Congress leaders. Clearly shows that the BJP govt is scared, and is arm-twisting platforms to bend at their will,” the Congress leader from Kolhapur tweeted.

    Besides Rahul Gandhi, the accounts of the Maharashtra Congress and state revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat too have been blocked, Patil said.

    “Anyone who questions fascism and corruption by BJP is being silenced,” he alleged.

    Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter handle was suspended after he tweeted a photograph of the parents of a nine-year old Dalit girl who was allegedly raped and killed in Delhi.

    The party also alleged on Thursday that its official Twitter handle as well as that of a large number of party leaders and workers have been blocked.

  • ‘Uddhav government united, strong’: Ajit Pawar plays down Patole’s remarks

    By PTI
    PUNE: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday said that despite some statements made by state Congress chief Nana Patole, the latter’s colleagues Balasaheb Thorat and Ashok Chavan have clarified that the MVA government in the state was strong and working unitedly.

    Queried on whether Patole’s recent remarks pointed to lack of unity in the ruling dispensation, Pawar said such statements are made in closed-door meetings to boost the morale of party workers.

    “Even if such statements were made, other Congress leaders like Balasaheb Thorat and Ashok Chavan have clarified that the (MVA) alliance is strong and we all are working together. Even Patole echoed similar sentiments later,” he said, adding that the entire Congress party was working as one under the leadership of its chief Sonia Gandhi.

    Pawar refuted media reports that he had discussed this issue with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, and also rubbished others which said the Zoting Commission report had indicted BJP-turned-NCP leader Eknath Khadse in a land deal.

    He added that the state government had not received the Zoting Commission report as yet.

    Asked on the BJP-ruled Pune Municipal Corporation passing a resolution to draft a development plan for 23 villages merged into it recently, Pawar said the PMC could take such a decision but it was for the state government to decide whether the DP will be made by the civic body or the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority.

    The state government had recently issued a notification appointing PMRDA as the “planning authority” for the 23 villages.

  • Maharashtra govt will amend agri law to protect interest of farmers: Minister Balasaheb Thorat

    He said the draft law will be introduced in the monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature beginning July 5.

  • Maharashtra Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat raises concern over Ahmednagar COVID-19 situation

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Maharashtra Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat has alleged mismanagement of medicines and tests of COVID-19 patients in Ahmednagar and said this could worsen the situation in the district.

    The Congress leader, who hails from Ahmednagar, located about 260 km from Mumbai, wrote a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday, listing his observations made during a recent tour of the district.

    He also sought instructions on the judicious use of Remdesivir to treat COVID-19 patients.

    On Monday, Ahmednagar reported 2,254 new COVID-19 cases, raising its overall tally to 1,08,893, while 23 deaths pushed the toll to 1,155, as per official data.

    Thorat said COVID-19 test reports were being declared after about 48 hours of swab collection and during this period, those people were not following isolation guidelines.

    Some tehsils in Ahmednagar do not have rapid antigen test kits, due to which less number of COVID-19 tests were being conducted, he said.

    As a result, less number of COVID-19 cases were being reported in the district, which is “not the ground reality”, he said.

    “These things could worsen the situation in the district,” the minister said.

    He said basic medicines like Paracetamol, Cetrizine, Azithromycin and Fabiflu were also not available in state-run hospitals and COVID-19 care centres in Ahmednagar Though 85 per cent of the COVID-19 patients were getting cured at the isolation centres, necessary medicines need to be made available easily, he said.

    “If a patient’s health deteriorates, timely availability of oxygen and Remdesivir is crucial. Kindly initiate appropriate action,” Thorat said in the letter.

    He also said many citizens were rushing for lung scans for the detection of spread of the viral infection.

    “This leads to crowding at the scanning centres. These centres have now become one of the causes for the rise in COVID-19 cases,” Thorat said.

    Doctors were also insisting on the HR-CT (high resolution scan of the chest) reports before admitting patients, he said and demanded a strict policy on such scans.