News Analysis India

Tag: Uddhav Thackeray

  • NCP’s Supriya Sule downplays Thackeray -Fadnavis meet, says MVA will rule for 25 years 

    By PTI

    NAGPUR: NCP Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule on Saturday said she would welcome the meeting between Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis if it was happening “by putting aside political ideologies”.

    Thackeray and Fadnavis met at the former’s chamber for around 20 minutes on Friday after an all-party meeting that was convened by the CM in Mumbai to discuss the OBC quota issue.

    Queried by reporters on the meeting and whether it signaled a “patch up” between the former allies, Sule, who is here on a two-day visit, said, “If you leave (aside) ideology and have a good relationship with each other, I would welcome such meetings that happen by putting aside political ideologies.”

    Answering another question, the Baramati MP said while the local area development funds of parliamentarians were on hold amid the coronavirus outbreak as per a decision by the Union government, legislators in Maharashtra were receiving these funds.

    This just meant the financial condition of Maharashtra was better than that of the Centre, Sule said, adding that she believed the Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress, would rule the state for another 25 years.

    Sule also hit out at the Narendra Modi government for “misusing” probe agencies like the Enforcement Directorate to target opposition leaders.

    “I have never seen such misuse of power in my lifetime,” Sule claimed.

  • Uddhav calls all-party meet on OBC quota in local body polls

    By Express News Service

    MUMBAI:  Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday called an all-party meeting to discuss the OBC reservation issue in view of the Supreme Court’s decision to cancel the quota in local body polls.At the meeting, it was discussed that unless OBC reservation is restored, local body elections should not be held in Maharashtra. All parties agreed that OBCs should get a political reservation in local bodies.

    Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had sought the views of various political parties in this regard. He said that it was the opinion of all that local body elections should not be held without OBC reservation. He said he would study the suggestions and options received at the meeting in the coming days and take a decision on the issue. Uddhav Thackeray welcomed the presence of all party leaders for the discussion. He said all parties should remain united and unanimous in the demand for OBC reservation.

    Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said that they are with the government. He said that government does not need to conduct the survey to get empirical data. “It can be sought through the sample survey. Once this data is collected in the next two to three months, the state government can initiate the procedure for restoring OBC reservations in the local body,” Fadnavis said.

    Consensus

    Uddhav Thackeray welcomed the presence of all party leaders for the discussion. He said all parties should remain united and unanimous in the demand for OBC reservation

  • Decision on OBC quota in a week, says Maharashtra CM Thackeray

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: All political parties have agreed to restore the reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in local governing bodies and a decision would be taken in a week’s time, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Friday.

    He was speaking at an all-party meeting held on the issue at the Sahyadri Guest House here.

    Another meeting would be held next Friday, he said.

    The state government is trying to find a way to restore political reservation for OBCs in Maharashtra after the Supreme Court read down the earlier provision.

    “We all have agreed to reinstate the OBC quota in local governing bodies. The state government will study the suggestions made by various political parties. All of them have also opposed holding civic polls till the quota is reinstated,” Thackeray was quoted as saying in an official release.

    “The next meeting will take place on next Friday (September 3) and we will take some decision by then,” the chief minister added.

    BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis told reporters after the meeting that the state government should focus on compiling empirical data of OBC population as per the Supreme Court-mandated `triple test’.

    “The Supreme Court has not struck down the OBC reservation, but only read down a provision. It means that if the Maharashtra government completes the triple-test procedure, political reservation can be restored. The state government should focus on it,” the former chief minister said.

    A backward classes commission, one of the requirements of the triple-test, has already been set up, he said.

    Quantification can be done on the basis of sample and there is no need of an OBC census, Fadnavis added.

    In 2019, the BJP-Shiv Sena government allotted political reservation to OBCs.

    But in March 2021, the Supreme Court read down section 12(2)(c) of the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961 which provided 27 per cent reservation to OBCs as it breached the 50 per cent ceiling on overall quota.

  • ‘Slap Uddhav’ remark: Shah dials up Narayan Rane, seeks ground report

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI:  Union Home Minister Amit Shah called up Narayan Rane on Thursday and enquired about the ongoing controversy over his intemperate remarks against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

    Rane was arrested for his statement against Uddhav and later released by the Mahad court, while the Bombay High Court granted relief to him till September 17 from coercive action by the state.

    Former BJP MLA Pramod Jathar said Shah called up Rane and enquired about the political situation of Maharashtra. Shah wanted to get into the details of the incident, which led to Rane’s arrest.

    Sources in the BJP said the leadership is not happy with Rane’s conduct.

    “This is humiliating not only for Rane, but also the party. The party is finding it hard to support Rane. This will also dent the image of the party,” a senior BJP leader said. 

    While the leadership had arranged for replacements for its Jan Ashirwad Yatra, Rane has insisted to take it from where he left.

    However, sources said the leadership is wary of the impact of the bad press of his intemperate remarks against Uddhav. 

  • Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut defends Uddhav Thackeray’s old comment about Adityanath

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday claimed that Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray made his now-controversial comment about Yogi Adityanath because the latter garlanded a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj while wearing footwear.

    Union minister Narayan Rane, who was arrested for a comment against Thackeray on Tuesday and later got bail, had alleged that Thackeray had said in the past that the Uttar Pradesh chief minister should be hit with a chappal (footwear).

    “The remarks were made a couple of years ago because Yogi Adityanath garlanded the warrior king (at a function) while wearing footwear. It is not in line with Maharashtra’s culture,” Raut told reporters here when asked about Rane’s allegation.

    “If the BJP feels it is okay to insult the legendary ruler. Is it okay?” he asked.

    “Was the BJP sleeping all these years? Don’t they know how to respect people?” the Rajya Sabha member added.

    On Rane’s statement that the BJP-led Union government will not allow Maharashtra to “become West Bengal,” Raut asked who was Rane to say so.

    “A Union minister is not the Centre. If there is any communication to be had, we will have it with the PM,” he said.

    BJP leader Rane was arrested on Tuesday from Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district following his remark that he would have slapped Thackeray for what he claimed as the latter’s ignorance of the year of India’s independence.

    His comments had set off protests by Shiv Sena workers.

    Subsequently, BJP leaders sought registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against chief minister Thackeray over his past remark about Adityanath.

  • Narayan Rane visits hospital in Mumbai for check-up

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane visited a private hospital here on Thursday for a medical check-up, BJP sources said.

    Rane, who is diabetic, went to the Lilavati Hospital, two days after he was arrested for his controversial remarks against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and later granted bail.

    “He is in the hospital for a routine check-up and not admitted,” BJP legislator Prasad Lad said.

    Earlier this week, Rane sparked off a row over his remarks about slapping CM Thackeray for what he claimed as the latter’s ignorance of the year of India’s independence.

    His remarks had led to protests across Maharashtra.

  • Thackeray’s remark on Yogi made over insult to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj: Sanjay Raut

    By ANI

    MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday said that Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s statement against Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath over an insult to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

    This came after BJP MLA Devyani Farande demanded action against Thackeray for allegedly using derogatory remarks against his Adityanath in the past.

    “The statement was made over an insult to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. No one garlands Shivaji Maharaj in Maharashtra while wearing slippers. It is our culture and tradition. This is our respect to Shivaji Maharaj,” Raut said.

    Earlier on Wednesday, Farande said: “Uddhav Thackeray had said about Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath that he is not ‘Yogi’ but Bhogi. He also had said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should be beaten with slippers. This is not appropriate. We hope strict action will be taken against him.”

    The war of words between BJP and Shiv Sena intensified after the arrest of Union Minister Narayan arrest in Maharashtra for a brief period of time over his alleged derogatory statement against Thackeray. However, Rane was granted bail a few hours later by the local court in Mahad of Raigarh district.

    Rane on Monday accused Thackeray of ignorance about the year of India’s independence at an event and said “I would have given (him) a tight slap.”

    The Union Minister was arrested in Ratnagiri district after several FIRs were registered against him at many places including Nashik and Pune, based on the complaints filed by Shiv Sena leaders for his remarks against Thackeray. 

  • The long history of Narayan Rane-Uddhav Thackeray rivalry

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI: At the centre of the ‘slap Thackeray’ controversy, Narayan Rane is an old Shiv Sainik who took several detours before finding a place in the BJP in 2019.Out on bail now, the Union minister would have certainly not thought that his Jan Ashirwad Yatra that began on August 16 would also include his arrest. State BJP leaders have demanded a CBI probe into the arrest. However, his animosity with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray goes back a long way. Rane has been a trenchant critic of Uddhav and has been unsparingly harsh on his family, too, often taking digs at his wife Rashmi and son Aditya. During his recent visit to the flood-affected Konkan region, Rane blamed Uddhav’s “bad luck” for disasters.

    ALSO READ | Won’t take coercive action against Narayan Rane on Nashik FIR: Maharashtra govt to HC

    A young Rane from Konkan region started off as a Shiv Sena shakha pramukh at Chembur (Mumbai) and rose through the ranks to become Maharashtra CM in the first Shiv Sena-BJP government for eight months in 1999.Uddhav was the first to object to Rane’s name being proposed in place of Joshi. Uddhav had just started speaking out through his proxies when crucial decisions were made in the Thackeray family. At that time, Shiv Sena was divided into three groups – the Thackeray family, including Balasaheb and Uddhav Thackeray, second one led by Rane and Raj Thackeray and the third included Smita Thackeray, wife of Balasaheb’s middle son Jaidev, and Joshi.

    “Balsaheb wanted to replace Joshi with someone who had grown up with Sena’s street-fighting culture. Besides, Rane had put indirect pressure on him because in 1998 Lok Sabha polls, the Shiv Sena-BJP had lost badly because of Brahamical, soft-spoken leadership of Joshi. The thinking was that if Sena wanted to bring the Maratha-OBC vote bank back again, then Rane, a Maratha by caste, should be made CM. Balasaheb succumbed to pressure and Rane was declared as the next chief minister in 1999,” said a senior Sena leader.This episode sowed the first seeds of discord between Uddhav and Rane. In 2003, the Sena named Uddhav as the party’s executive president and Rane opposed the move.

    ALSO READ | Out on bail, Union Minister Narayan Rane to resume ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ in Maharashtra soon

    The second major face-off involving Uddhav and Rane took place in 1999 state polls. Uddhav tried to push his close supporters’ names while Rane opposed them. “The ambitions of Rane and Uddhav led to a disaster for the Sena. The Sena-BJP fell short of a majority,” says political analyst Dhaval Kulkarni.In 2005, Rane was expelled from the Sena by Balasaheb for “anti-party activities”. In 2017, claiming that Congress had backtracked on its promise to make him CM, Rane left the party to form the Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksh. He declared support to BJP and got elected to the Rajya Sabha and later merged his party in BJP in 2019.That the BJP has chosen Rane to lead its Jan Ashirwad Yatra shows the party is banking on him to take on Uddhav. 

    Aim to control BMCWith over a dozen civic bodies set to go to polls early next year, the Jan Ashirwad yatra is seen as an early campaign. The BJP has primed Rane to oust the Sena from the country’s richest civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)

  • Now, BJP leader seeks FIR against Uddhav over ‘UP CM should be beaten with chappals’ remarks

    By PTI

    YAVATMAL: A BJP leader on Wednesday submitted an application demanding registration of an FIR against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray alleging he had called for beating his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath with chappals for “insulting” Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj during his speech at a Dussehra rally of Shiv Sena.

    The complainant, Yavatmal district BJP president Nitin Bhutada, urged the police to register a First Information Report (FIR) against Thackeray, who heads Shiv Sena, and take legal action against him for his “provocative” speech.

    The complaint application was submitted at the Umerkhed police station.

    ALSO READ | Narayan Rane claims Uddhav Thackeray used ‘unpalatable’ words for Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath

    A police officer confirmed receipt of the application from the BJP leader.

    The complaint stated that Thackeray used “provocative and filthy language” against Hindutva leader Yogi Adityanath during his Dussehra speech on October 25, 2020.

    “Thackeray had said that how can a Yogi become a CM? He should go and sit in a cave. He (Yogi) should be slapped with his chappal (footwear). Yogi has insulted Shivaji Maharaj. Yogi lacked the status to go near Shivaji Maharaj. Yogi should be beaten with his chappal when he comes to Maharashtra…..would have hit Yogi with chappal,” the application quoted Thackeray as saying.

    It said the remarks made by Thackeray had the potential to trigger unrest and riots in society.

    ​ALSO READ | Narayan Rane embarassed Centre, PM should take stern view of his remarks against Uddhav: Shiv Sena

    Bhutada said the BJP will file more complaints against CM Thackeray at various police stations in Maharashtra.

    Notably, the BJP submitted the application for registration of FIR against the Maharashtra chief minister a day after Union minister and BJP MP Narayan Rane was booked and arrested for using offensive language against Thackeray.

    The Union minister was arrested on Tuesday afternoon from Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district following his remarks made during his ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ in Raigad on Monday that he would have slapped Chief Minister Thackeray for what he claimed as the latter’s ignorance of the year of India’s independence.

    Rane’s comments had set off protests by Shiv Sainiks in many cities in Maharashtra.

  • Narayan Rane claims Uddhav Thackeray used ‘unpalatable’ words for Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: A day after he was arrested for making controversial remarks against Uddhav Thackeray, Union minister Narayan Rane said even the Maharashtra chief minister had used unpalatable words while referring to BJP leaders Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath.

    Speaking to reporters after securing bail from a Mahad court on Tuesday and further relief from the Bombay High Court on Wednesday, Rane also asserted that he is not afraid of the ruling Shiv Sena in the state.

    “I am not afraid of anyone and I am not backing out. My words were an expression of anger against the chief minister (Uddhav Thackeray) who forgot the year of India’s Independence. I only told reporters what he had already said, so how can it be a crime,” Rane said.

    ALSO READ | Won’t take coercive action against Narayan Rane on Nashik FIR: Maharashtra govt to HC

    Rane made the controversial remarks on Monday after which Shiv Sena workers lodged police complaints against him in several districts.

    Acting on these complaints, police arrested Rane and produced him before the Mahad court where he was granted bail late Tuesday night.

    Asked how he will criticise Maharashtra’s Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance government, he said, “I will criticise using good words.”

    ​ALSO READ | Out on bail, Union Minister Narayan Rane to resume ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ in Maharashtra soon

    Rane said Thackeray had ordered his party workers to break the jaws of people attacking the Sena Bhavan (party headquarters in Mumbai). Thackeray had also said that Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath should be beaten up with sandals, Rane claimed.

    “Uddhav Thackeray also called Union Home Minister Amit Shah shameless. He even said he was using unparliamentary words deliberately to describe Shah. What a civilised language,” Rane said.

    Referring to Shiv Sena leaders referring to his alleged crimes, Rane said, “If I was a gangster according to the Sena, that party made me the chief minister. Was it ok with the party?” “I will not sit quietly.We will use all parliamentary tools and legal powers and corner the MVA government in coming days,” he said.

    Asked about some Shiv Sena MLAs issuing verbal threats, Rane said, “I wonder whether they had ever killed a mouse.”