News Analysis India

Tag: Eknath Shinde

  • Surat hotel housing Eknath Shinde, rebel Shiv Sena MLAs turns into fortress

    By PTI

    SURAT: As Maharashtra’s ruling coalition battles for survival in Mumbai, some 280km away in Surat in BJP-ruled Gujarat, luxury hotel Le Meridien has become the focus of all attention as it is currently hosting dissident Shiv Sena Minister Eknath Shinde and some rebel party MLAs, and the property has been turned into a virtual fortress with nearly 400 policemen guarding it since early Tuesday morning.

    While guests who had arrived earlier are leaving one by one, sources revealed that the hotel, situated on Dumas Road of the diamond city, has stopped accepting new bookings for an indefinite period.

    Meanwhile, BJP MLA from Jalgaon in North Maharashtra Sanjay Kute arrived at the hotel in his car in the afternoon and he was subsequently allowed to go inside to meet the Shiv Sena leaders camping there.

    LIVE | Shiv Sena sacks Eknath Shinde as party whip; Minister invokes Bal Thackeray

    After the arrival of Shinde, a key Sena leader, and other Sena MLAs from Maharashtra on Monday night, 300 to 400 policemen took positions inside and outside the hotel premises and put barricades on both entry and exit points to prevent any “unauthorised” person from entering the property from the main road.

    Apart from the outer campus of the hotel, policemen are also deployed inside the hotel, especially on the floor where these ‘rebel leaders’ are staying. Since morning, DCP-level officers were seen visiting the premises at regular intervals and giving necessary instructions to on-duty police personnel.

    While no outsider or visitor is permitted to enter the hotel premises, staffers are allowed inside only after checking their IDs and taking permission from authorities concerned.

    A large group of journalists and camera persons are camping outside the hotel to gather news on the dramatic political developments connected to Maharashtra, where the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ruling coalition is battling its worst crisis since coming to power in November 2019.

    Scene outside hotel Le Meridian in Surat where disgruntled Shiv Sena minister Eknath Shinde & his loyalists Sena MLAs are camped. One of the Sena MLA suffered heart issue & he has been shifted to nearby hospital in Surat only. @NewIndianXpress @TheMornStandard pic.twitter.com/JZ5Ya7GTps
    — Sudhir Suryawanshi (@ss_suryawanshi) June 21, 2022
    Maharashtra minister and some MLAs reached the hotel on late June 20 night, hours after Legislative Council polls which saw the BJP winning a fifth seat despite not having enough numbers in the Assembly, possibly due to suspected cross-voting from the ruling bloc besides support from Independent MLAs and those from smaller parties.

    After the Council poll results, Shinde went incommunicado and later it came to light he is camping in the hotel along with some party MLAs.

    The opposition BJP on Monday won all five seats it contested in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections for 10 seats, while Congress candidate and Dalit leader Chandrakant Handore lost, in another setback for the MVA, comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, after the Rajya Sabha polls earlier this month.

    Two candidates each of the Shiv Sena and NCP won, while the Congress managed to bag just one seat.

    Ten Council seats were up for grabs and 11 candidates were in the fray for the elections, which came days after the Rajya Sabha polls, which saw the BJP handing an embarrassing defeat to the Shiv Sena-led ruling coalition by winning an additional seat despite lacking in numbers.

  • Gujarat BJP’s CR Patil in touch with Eknath Shinde for long time: Sources

    Express News Service

    Gujarat’s Surat may well become the centre of a political earthquake that is likely to topple the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra.

    The disgruntled rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and 21 Sena MLAs are camped at Hotel Le Meridian in Surat. Interestingly, the rooms in this hotel were booked on June 20 evening only.

    Sources said that Gujarat BJP unit CR Patil is the key person behind the rebellion of Shinde against Uddhav Thackeray.

    “Patil has been in touch with Shinde for a long time to carry out ‘Operation Lotus’ in Maharashtra. Patil who hails from Jalgaon is in touch with some of the Sena MLAs as well. These MLAs include Chimanrao Patil from Parola, and Kishor Patil from Pachora, who belong to the Maratha community. This link helped Patil to connect with Shinde and other disgruntled MLAs of Sena. It was planned ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections and Maharashtra state legislative council elections by transferring Shiv Sena votes to BJP,” said a source who requested anonymity.

    Interestingly, after the arrival of Shinde and his supporter MLAs, Patil cancelled all his scheduled meetings. He was in Ahmedabad and then he rushed to Surat. Besides, Gujarat police also deployed heavy security to the hotel where Sena MLAs are camped.

    One of the rebels Shiv Sena MLAs said that he has been promised a cabinet post in the new government. He said in the Thackeray government, he was the senior-most but was still neglected.

    A senior Shiv Sena leader said that party leaders and MLAs who are under the scanner of Central agencies encouraged Shinde to take this step against the Shiv Sena leadership and form government with BJP.

    Sources also said that Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik and former chairman of BMC standing committee Yashwant Jadhav were in Delhi to coordinate with BJP leaders and Shinde. 

    Explaining a plausible cause behind the rebellion, a source who requested anonymity “The communication gap between rural MLAs and urban MLAs of Sena increased. The power was concentrated with urban faces that annoyed rural Sena MLAs. Besides, Uddhav Thackeray was not easily approachable and accessible. During fund allocations, NCP leader Ajit Pawar dominated decision-making which did not go well with Sena MLAs.”

  • Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde gets threat letter from Naxals

    By PTI

    THANE: Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Eknath Shinde has received a threat letter suspected to have been sent by Naxals, a senior police official said on Friday.

    The official, attached to the Thane Police commissionerate, said the Urban Development Minister received the threat letter 10 to 15 days back.

    Shinde, a Shiv Sena leader, is also the guardian minister of Thane and Gadchiroli districts.

    Gadchiroli, located in eastern Maharashtra, is a Naxal-affected district.

    The police official said the letter warns that the minister, a resident of Thane city, and his family members will have to pay a “heavy price” for the state government’s actions against Naxals.

    He said the letter has the CPI (Maoist), a banned outfit of Naxals, written on it.

    An offence under IPC section 506 (criminal intimidation) has been registered at the Wagle Estate police station here against unidentified persons, the official said.

    The crime branch of the Thane city police is probing the matter, he added.

  • Uddhav government to double hike for Marathi degree holders in BMC

    By Express News Service

    MUMBAI: Ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls, the Maharashtra government has cleared the proposal of the Shiv Sena-run civic body for giving double increment to the employees of the civic body who are graduates in Marathi. 

    The BMC wants to promote Marathi at the workplace. The urban development ministry of Eknath Shinde approved this decision recently to woo the Marathi voters ahead of the BMC elections.  In BMC, more than one lakh people are engaged in various departments.

    The Corporation will go polls in February next year. In 2017, the BJP gave a close fight to the Sena which managed to retain power, even though it failed to win a simple majority in the house of 227 In 2011, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) had tabled a proposal to give double increments to the civic employees who cleared their post-graduation in Marathi literature. The then BMC commissioner, Jairaj Pathak, had passed the proposal that aimed to make the civic body’s functioning ‘100% Marathi’.

    However, with the proposed implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission putting a strain on the civic body’s resources, the BMC had no option but to scrap Pathak’s plan. The civic body had to roll back its decision in 2012 to award double increments to postgraduates in Marathi. The withdrawal of these special pay-hikes affected over 1,000 employees who had enrolled in correspondence courses to avail of the special offer.

    After the announcement of the scheme, all the engineers, doctors and fourth-class employees had also enrolled themselves for post-graduation in Marathi literature. The double increment decision was halted again in 2018. However, it has again been proposed ahead of the BMC polls in 2022.

    Resource crunchThe civic body had to roll back its decision in 2012 to award double increments. The withdrawal of these hikes had affected over 1,000 employees

  • Am loyal to Shiv Sena; Narayan Rane’s offer to join BJP aimed at creating confusion: Eknath Shinde

    By PTI

    THANE: A day after Union minister Narayan Rane said Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde is “fed up” with the Shiv Sena and is welcome in the BJP if he wants to switch sides, the latter hit back on Sunday saying the statement was made to create confusion within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

    Shinde also said contrary to the “baseless” claims made by Rane, he was very much happy in the Sena, headed by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. “Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde is fed up with the Shiv Sena as he has to ask the ‘Matoshree’ (residence of chief minister and Sena president Uddhav Thackeray) before signing any file. If he approaches me, I will surely induct him into the BJP. Shinde is bored there and has no work. He is in trouble there,” Rane, a former Shiv Sena leader himself, told reporters during his ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ in Vasai near Mumbai on Saturday.

    Dismissing Rane’s statement, Shinde told reporters that he didn’t understand its basis. “I am very happy in the Shiv Sena and the work of my ministry (Urban Development) is going on smoothly. I make decisions for my ministry,” Shinde said.

    “Rane’s statement that I am feeling suffocated in the Sena and would soon leave the party is aimed at creating confusion. Rane has been making such statement since the formation of the MVA government. He intends to create confusion in minds of others (MVA partners). I am loyal to the Sena and Uddhav Thackeray,” Shinde said.

    He gave examples of the Unified Development Control Regulations (DCR) and the ongoing construction of the Samruddhi Mahamarg connecting Mumbai with Nagpur to assert that he was free to take decisions. “Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is involved when it comes to taking any policy decision and we make decisions together,” he said, adding Rane, who had served as chief minister of Maharashtra, knows this decision-making process very well.

    Shinde said Rane in his capacity as Union MSME Minister is free to take decisions but Prime Minister Narendra Modi is involved whenever a policy decision has to be taken. Shinde, the MLA from Kopri Pacahpakhadi in Thane, also said the MVA, comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, is functioning smoothly.

    “The MVA government worked relentlessly during the COVID-19 pandemic and didn’t allow the pandemic to affect development works,” he added.

  • Would induct Eknath Shinde in BJP if he wishes: Narayan Rane

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Union minister Narayan Rane on Saturday said he would facilitate senior Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde’s entry into the BJP if the latter approached him.

    He also claimed that many leaders and ministers in Maharashtra are set to join the BJP.

    Rane was speaking to reporters in Vasai near here during the Jan Ashirwad Yatra organized by the BJP for the new members of the Narendra Modi government.

    “Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde is fed up with the Shiv Sena as he has to ask the `Matoshri’ (residence of chief minister and Sena president Uddhav Thackeray) before signing any file. If he approaches me, I will surely induct him in the BJP,” the BJP leader said.

    “Shinde is bored there and has no work. He is in trouble there,” Rane, a former Shiv Sena leader himself, claimed.

    Rane also appealed to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to help Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the development of the nation.

    “I never saw a great leader like PM Modi in my life. The prime minister did everything to improve the status of the country and make it a ‘Mahasatta’ (superpower),” the BJP MP said.

    The MSME minister also expressed concerns over the problems faced by industries.

    “More than 350 factories in the Palghar region are shut due to power shortage rendering more than 3 lakh people jobless,” he said.

    He also took a dig at the ruling Shiv Sena, days after some party workers ‘purified’ late Bal Thackeray’s memorial in Mumbai after his visit.

    “Instead of sprinkling ‘gaumutra’ (cow urine), they should try to help industries survive. Give employment to youths and improve the industrial and employment opportunities and increase the GDP,” Rane said.

  • Maharashtra: Man arrested for ‘defamatory’ post against Shiv Sena Minister 

    By PTI
    THANE: A Thane resident was arrested in connection with a “defamatory” post on social media against Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra cabinet minister Eknath Shinde, police said on Monday.

    The social media post also had the potential to spread enmity between two communities, a police official said, adding the man was arrested on Sunday and a case was registered at Srinagar police station under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for defamation and other charges.

    The accused had posted the alleged defamatory matter on the Facebook page of the minister, he said.

    Last year, a 40-year-old civil engineer, also from Thane, had allegedly posted a morphed photo of Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Jitendra Awhad, triggering a row.

    The engineer had claimed that he was taken to the bungalow of the minister instead of the police station, where he was thrashed by the minister’s men.

  • Centre should provide free COVID-19 vaccines in Maharashtra: Minister

    Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde said that all preparations for the actual vaccination were in place in Thane district, of which he is the guardian minister.