News Analysis India

Tag: Uddhav Thackeray

  • Sena MP writes to PM Modi, demands sacking of Narayan Rane over his ‘slap’ remark against Uddhav

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, demanding sacking of Union minister Narayan Rane over his remarks against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

    Raut said it was beyond his comprehension what message Rane would give to the society when he himself was using such language.

    “It is also an insult to the prime minister of this country,” Raut said in the letter.

    Union Minister Rane has sparked off a row over his remarks about slapping Chief Minister Thackeray for what he claimed as the latter’s ignorance of the year of India’s independence.

    “It is shameful that the chief minister does not know the year of independence. He leaned back to enquire about the count of years of independence during his speech. Had I been there, I would have given (him) a tight slap,” Rane said during his Jan Ashirwad Yatra in adjoining Raigad district on Monday.

    The BJP leader and former Shiv Sena chief minister claimed Thackeray forgot the year of independence during his August 15 address to the people of the state.

    Thackeray had to check the year of independence with his aides midway during the speech that day, Rane said Mentioning Rane’s remarks, Raut in his letter to the PM said, “I believe a person like Rane, who forgets the post he is representing, has no right to continue on it. It is my humble request to you to seek his resignation and remove him from your cabinet.”

    Raut, who had earlier defeated Narayan Rane’s son Nilesh from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha seat, expressed hope that the prime minister will take immediate action in connection with the matter.

    NCP’s Maharashtra unit president Jayant Patil, whose party shares power with the Shiv Sena and Congress in the state as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, criticised the language used by Rane against the CM.

    “The language used by Union minister Narayan Rane is condemnable. It also shows what kind of cabinet colleagues Prime Minister Narendra Modi has gathered around him,” Patil told reporters here.

    The NCP leader said he does not recall use of such language earlier by any politician.

    Shiv Sena workers held agitations in parts of the state to protest Rane’s remarks.

    The Sena and BJP activists also clashed with each other over the issue near Rane’s residence in Mumbai.

    Patil, who is the state water resources minister, said he was not aware whether Shiv Sena workers alone were involved in the violence in some parts of the state.

    “The state home department will have a better information about it,” he said.

    Asked if such incidents were lowering the standard of the state’s politics, Patil said, “The standard of politics has not gone down, but some people have stooped low. Rane’s comments against Thackeray are not only an insult of the CM, but also of the people.”

    Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said Rane’s remarks against CM Thackeray are against the state’s culture.

    “Earlier, we thought that more number of ministers (from Maharashtra) in the Union ministry would benefit the state. But, such a statement from Narayan Rane is disturbing the state’s environment,” Patole told reporters in Nanded.

    ‘We protest against his statement,” he said, adding that law will take its course against those who commit offences.

    Shiv Sena’s youth wing leader Varun Sardesai asked whether senior BJP leaders approved of the language used by Rane against Thackeray.

    “Is this the same BJP of (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee or (Lal Krishna) Advani? They should come clean on it,” said Sardesai, the cousin of state cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray, who is the CM’s son.

    The Sena leader also said they did not ask anyone to gather outside Rane’s residence in Mumbai.

    Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Hasan Mushrif also criticised the Union minister’s remarks and alleged that the BJP was deliberately stoking a controversy through leaders like Rane “to destabilise the MVA government”.

    “I do not think they will succeed in it,” he said.

    State agriculture minister and Shiv Sena leader Dada Bhuse said, “Rane seems to be sick and needs some medical attention. The BJP, in its dirty politics, is playing with the lives of people.”

    The COVID-19 situation is still serious, he said, while referring to gatherings during Rane’s yatra in the state.

  • Shiv Sena-BJP activists clash near Narayan Rane’s residence as Union Minister faces arrest over his ‘tight slap’ remark to Uddhav

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Activists of the Shiv Sena’s youth wing and the BJP clashed with each other near Union minister Narayan Rane’s residence in Mumbai on Tuesday in the wake of his comments against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, police said.

    Stones were pelted from both the sides, following which police used cane-charge to disperse the agitators, an official said.

    The Shiv Sena workers sat on the Juhu Tara Road in Santacruz (West) near Rane’s residence, and activists from both the sides shouted slogans against each other, the official said.

    Following the incident, the road was blocked from two sides, disrupting traffic in the area.

    Additional police force was deployed in the area, the official said.

    The clash took place during a protest organised by activists of the Yuva Sena (the Shiv Sena’s youth wing) against Union minister Rane, he added.

    BJP workers had gathered outside Rane’s residence in the morning in support of their party leader, while Shiv Sena activists, including women, carrying placards and shouting slogans against Rane, had assembled outside an office of the Yuva Sena (the party’s youth wing), located nearby in Juhu.

    Heavy police security was deployed outside Rane’s residence, the official said.

    According to police, Shiv Sena and BJP supporters also clashed at Chiplun in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district.

    Besides, stones were hurled at the BJP’s office in Nashik city, while Shiv Sena workers held agitations in Nagpur, officials said.

    Rane, who was recently inducted into the Union cabinet, had sparked off a row over his remarks about slapping Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, for what he claimed as the latter’s ignorance of the year of India’s independence.

    “It is shameful that the chief minister does not know the year of independence. He leaned back to enquire about the count of years of independence during his speech. Had I been there, I would have given (him) a tight slap,” Rane said during his Jan Ashirwad Yatra in adjoining Raigad district on Monday.

    Nashik Police Commissioner Deepak Pandey on Tuesday issued orders for the immediate arrest of Rane and a team of the city police left for Chiplun in Konkan region, where Rane is present now, after a complaint against the Union minister over the remarks.

    A case was also registered against Rane in Pune, while the Shiv Sena lodged a complaint against him at a police station in Aurangabad.

    Nashik Police Commissioner Deepak Pandey on Tuesday issued orders for the immediate arrest of the Union minister after an FIR was registered against him in the north Maharashtra city.

    Accordingly, a team of Nashik Police left in the morning for Ratnagiri district, where Rane is currently carrying out his ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’, an official said.

    Following his remarks, a complaint was lodged against Rane by Nashik city Shiv Sena unit chief at the Cyber police station there.

    Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered against Rane in Nashik under IPC sections 500 (defamation), 505(2) (mischief), 153-B (1)(c) (remarks likely to cause disharmony, or feeling of enmity or hatred or ill-will), a police official said.

    Considering the law and order situation across the state and in Nashik in the wake of Rane’s remarks, Police Commissioner Deepak Pandey ordered an investigation into the matter and immediate arrest of the Union minister.

    Accordingly, a team, led by Nashik DCP (crime) Sanjay Barkund and comprising police inspector Ananda Wagh and other officers, was formed and it rushed to Chiplun in Ratnagiri to arrest Rane, the official said.

    The team was asked to arrest Rane and produce him before a court in Nashik, the official said, adding the team was also directed to follow the due procedure for arresting the Union minister.

    “We are going by the facts of the case after the registration of an offence against Rane. We are following the rule of law,” Pandey said, adding the arrest was needed to prevent the repetition of such an offence.

    The Union minister will be arrested in the case and produced before a court, and further action will be taken according to orders of the court, the police commissioner said.

    After Rane’s arrest, Vice President (Venkaiah Naidu) will be informed as the Union minister is a member of the Rajya Sabha, the official said.

    “While arresting Rane, police will follow all protocols with regard to a Union minister,” he said adding all his privileges as Union minister will be considered.

    Whatever he wants to say, he can put forth before the court, the senior police official said.

    Meanwhile, in Aurangabad , Shiv Sena’s spokesperson Ambadas Danve lodged a complaint against Rane at Kranti Chowk police station over the latter’s remarks against the CM and party workers hit a photo of the Union minister with footwear.

    Talking to reporters after lodging the police complaint, Danve said Rane’s remarks were “objectionable”, and demanded action against the BJP leader.

    The MLC called Rane a ‘kombdi chor’ (chicken stealer) — a reference to the poultry shop he ran in Chembur five decades ago during his initial stint with the Sena — a released a couple of hens at the Kranti Chowk square.

    The women’s wing of the Shiv Sena will also undertake an agitation in Aurangabad, Danve said.

    “Earlier, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray used to call Narayan Rane as ‘Naru’, which is the name of a disease in Marathi. The Shiv Sena has a remedy for this disease,” he said.

    He claimed Rane made the statement to provoke the Shiv Sena.

    The Shiv Sena will protest against Rane’s statement through the constitutional process as well as by taking to the streets, the MLC said.

    An official at the Kranti Chowk police station in Aurangabad said they have received the Shiv Sena’s complaint and action will be taken as per the instructions of senior officials.

  • ‘Haven’t committed any crime’: Rane on ‘tight slap’ remarks about Uddhav as security beefed outside Union Minister’s residence

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Union minister Narayan Rane on Tuesday defended his remarks against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, saying he hasn’t committed any crime by making them.

    On speculation that he will be arrested in this case, Rane said he was not a ‘normal’ man and cautioned the media against such reportage.

    “I haven’t committed any crime. You should verify and show it on TV or else I will file a case against you (media). Despite not committing any crime, the media is showing speculative news about my ‘imminent’ arrest. Do you think I am a normal (ordinary) man?” Rane told reporters at Chiplun in the coastal Konkan region.

    Asked about cases filed by Shiv Sena workers against him over his remarks, Rane shot back, “Shiv Sena who?” Rane has sparked off a row over his remarks about slapping Thackeray for what he claimed as the latter’s ignorance of the year of India’s independence.

    “It is shameful that the chief minister does not know the year of independence. He leaned back to enquire about the count of years of independence during his speech. Had I been there, I would have given (him) a tight slap,” Rane told reporters during his Jan Ashirwad Yatra in Raigad district on Monday.

    The BJP leader and former Shiv Sena chief minister claimed Thackeray forgot the year of independence during his August 15 address to the people of the state.

    Thackeray had to check the year of independence with his aides midway during the speech that day, Rane said.

    Meanwhile, BJP workers gathered outside Rane’s residence on Juhu Tara Road in Santacruz (West) in the morning in support of their party leader.

    Besides, Shiv Sena workers, including women, carrying placards and shouting slogans against Rane, assembled outside an office of the Yuva Sena (the party’s youth wing), located nearby in Juhu.

    A posse of police personnel, including women cops, were deployed outside Rane’s residence to prevent any untoward incident, the official said.

    Nashik Police Commissioner Deepak Pandey on Tuesday issued orders for the immediate arrest of the Union minister after an FIR was registered against him in the north Maharashtra city.

    Accordingly, a team of Nashik Police left in the morning for Ratnagiri district, where Rane is currently carrying out his ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’, an official said.

    ALSO READ | Multiple FIRs filed against Narayan Rane for his ‘tight slap’ remark about Uddhav, BJP defends Union Minister

    Following his remarks, a complaint was lodged against Rane by Nashik city Shiv Sena unit chief at the Cyber police station there.

    Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered against Rane in Nashik under IPC sections 500 (defamation), 505(2) (mischief), 153-B (1)(c) (remarks likely to cause disharmony, or feeling of enmity or hatred or ill-will), a police official said.

    Considering the law and order situation across the state and in Nashik in the wake of Rane’s remarks, Police Commissioner Deepak Pandey ordered an investigation into the matter and immediate arrest of the Union minister.

    Accordingly, a team, led by Nashik DCP (crime) Sanjay Barkund and comprising police inspector Ananda Wagh and other officers, was formed and it rushed to Chiplun in Ratnagiri to arrest Rane, the official said.

    The team was asked to arrest Rane and produce him before a court in Nashik, the official said, adding the team was also directed to follow the due procedure for arresting the Union minister.

    “We are going by the facts of the case after the registration of an offence against Rane. We are following the rule of law,” Pandey said, adding the arrest was needed to prevent the repetition of such an offence.

    The Union minister will be arrested in the case and produced before a court, and further action will be taken according to orders of the court, the police commissioner said.

    After Rane’s arrest, Vice President (Venkaiah Naidu) will be informed as the Union minister is a member of the Rajya Sabha, the official said.

    “While arresting Rane, police will follow all protocols with regard to a Union minister,” he said adding all his privileges as Union minister will be considered.

    Whatever he wants to say, he can put forth before the court, the senior police official said.

    Meanwhile, in Aurangabad , Shiv Sena’s spokesperson Ambadas Danve lodged a complaint against Rane at Kranti Chowk police station over the latter’s remarks against the CM and party workers hit a photo of the Union minister with footwear.

    Talking to reporters after lodging the police complaint, Danve said Rane’s remarks were “objectionable”, and demanded action against the BJP leader.

    The MLC called Rane a ‘kombdi chor’ (chicken stealer) — a reference to the poultry shop he ran in Chembur five decades ago during his initial stint with the Sena — a released a couple of hens at the Kranti Chowk square.

    The women’s wing of the Shiv Sena will also undertake an agitation in Aurangabad, Danve said.

    “Earlier, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray used to call Narayan Rane as ‘Naru’, which is the name of a disease in Marathi. The Shiv Sena has a remedy for this disease,” he said.

    He claimed Rane made the statement to provoke the Shiv Sena.

    The Shiv Sena will protest against Rane’s statement through the constitutional process as well as by taking to the streets, the MLC said.

    An official at the Kranti Chowk police station in Aurangabad said they have received the Shiv Sena’s complaint and action will be taken as per the instructions of senior officials.

  • Multiple FIRs filed against Narayan Rane for his ‘tight slap’ remark about Uddhav, BJP defends Union Minister

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI: A day after Narayan Rane sparked off a row over his remarks about “giving a tight slap to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray”, multiple FIRs have have been lodged in Pune, Nashik, Mahad, and other places against the Union minister. 

    Nashik Police have sent a team to Chipun, where Rane is expected to attend a Janashirwad Yatra on Tuesday. They are likely to arrest him.

    The remarks made by the Union minister has also drawn sharp criticism from Shiv Sena. The party workers have erected posters of Union minister depicting a hen and calling him a hen thief.

    “It is shameful that the chief minister does not know the year of independence. He leaned back to enquire about the count of years of independence during his speech. Had I been there, I would have given (him) a tight slap,” Rane said during his Jan Ashirwad Yatra in adjoining Raigad district on Monday.

    However, the BJP leaders defended Narayan Rane saying his language is like late Balasaheb Thackeray so people should understand it. BJP leader Ram Kadam said that there can be a debate over Narayan Rane’s langauge, but the state police cannot arrest him.

    “Narayan Rane is a Union cabinet minister therefore the police cannot violate the protocol and arrest him. They can give reply in same language. If he is arrested, then we will protest against it,” Kadam said.

    Chandrakant Patil, Maharashtra BJP president said that he cannot defend the statement made by the Union minister but the state govt police cannot arrest him. He said this is the language and style of Rane.

    “They can give notice or warn that the ministers should not speak like this. But there should not be an arrest,” Patil said adding during Dussera rally, Uddhav Thackeray also made many controversial statements so can we arrest them?

    Patil wondered how a state could plan to arrest a Union minister.

    “Is there no administrative procedure?” he asked.

    “People who are pointing fingers at Rane should not forget that there have been several instances of Uddhav Thackeray using inflammatory language,” the BJP leader said.

    On Monday, during his ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ in adjoining Raigad district, Rane said, “It is shameful that the chief minister does not know the year of independence. He leaned back to enquire about the count of years of independence during his speech. Had I been there, I would have given (him) a tight slap.”

    The BJP leader and former Shiv Sena chief minister claimed Thackeray forgot the year of independence during his August 15 address to the people of the state.

    Thackeray had to check the year of independence with his aides midway during the speech that day, Rane said Mumbai BJP MLA Ram Kadam defended the Union minister and said, “Rane is know for his aggressiveness. There could be a difference of opinion over his choice of words.”

    He alleged that from the day of commencement of the Jan Ashirwad Yatra, the Thackeray-led Maharashtra government was trying to misuse power and hinder Rane’s rally.

    “This is cheating by the state government. The state government is scared because of the massive response garnered by his rally,” the legislator told a news channel.

    He also claimed that Thackeray as CM had earlier made controversial statements and also used inflammatory language.

    “However, it was conveniently ignored by people as well as the state machinery,” Kadam said.

    BJP leader Pramod Jathar, who is co-ordinating Rane’s yatra in Ratnagiri district, said, “Rane’s language is similar to that of late Balasaheb Thackeray (the founder of Shiv Sena). The Jan Ashirwad Yatra will continue for sure.”

    Asked about Rane’s remarks, he said, “CM Thackeray forgetting the year of independence is more insulting. Rane only expressed feelings of the common man.”

    However, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik claimed the BJP was trying disturb the harmony in Maharashtra, and said “there will be repercussions” if a person makes controversial remarks.

    “The state will not accept this kind of language. Rane has not only insulted CM Thackeray, but also the people of this state. If a person makes controversial remarks, there will be repercussions,” said Malik, whose party shares power with the Shiv Sena and Congress in Maharashtra.

    He also claimed that the BJP was trying to do politics, “like it did in West Bengal by inciting violence”.

    “The BJP must understand that Maharashtra will not get into it,” he added.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • ‘Would have slapped Uddhav’: Narayan Rane’s remarks draw Shiv Sena’s ire

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Union minister Narayan Rane has sparked off a row over his remarks about slapping Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for what he claimed as the latter’s ignorance of the year of India’s independence.

    “It is shameful that the chief minister does not know the year of independence. He leaned back to enquire about the count of years of independence during his speech. Had I been there, I would have given (him) a tight slap,” Rane said during his Jan Ashirwad Yatra in adjoining Raigad district on Monday.

    The BJP leader and former Shiv Sena chief minister claimed Thackeray forgot the year of independence during his August 15 address to the people of the state.

    Thackeray had to check the year of independence with his aides midway during the speech that day, Rane said.

    Rane’s remarks drew sharp reactions from Shiv Sena, whose workers put several posters in Mumbai and other places, calling him a ‘kombdi chor’ (chicken stealer), a reference to the poultry shop he ran in Chembur five decades ago, during his initial stint with the Bal Thackeray-led party.

    Shiv Sena’s Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg MP Vinayak Raut said Rane has lost his mental balance.

    “To impress BJP leadership, Rane has been attacking Shiv Sena and its leaders. He lost his mental balance after his induction into the Modi-led ministry. Modi should show him the door,” Raut said.

  • OBC leaders ask Maharashtra CM Uddhav to seek PM Modi’s appointment OBC for retaining OBC reservations

    By Express News Service

    MUMBAI: As the clamour grows for including Other Backward Class (OBC) as part of the 2021 census, there is a demand that Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray should seek an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to put across the same demand.

    MLC Kapil Patil wrote to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray asking him to meet PM Narendra Modi to press for inclusion of OBC as a part of 2021 census.

    MLC Patil said that a Bihar CM Nitish Kumar led delegation met Modi in Delhi on Monday and the same should be done by Uddhav Thackeray for the larger interest of the OBC community in Maharashtra. 

    “There was the demand for inclusion of OBC in census from the southern states, but it has also gathered momentum in the north. Therefore, Maharashtra should not lag behind and just like Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), the OBC should be part of the census. Maratha, Dhangar, and Muslims are demanding the reservations so this census will be very crucial to establish the percentage of OBC populations across the country and the state as well. Before that , the chief minister should call an all-party meeting in Mumbai where all the nitty-gritty can be discussed and worked,” Patil said.

    NCP minister and OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal was also meeting several leaders across the party to press the demand of OBC reservations. Bhujbal earlier met former Maharashtra chief minister and BJP MLA Devendra Fadnavis with the same demand. Bhujbal is in Delhi on Monday to consult legal experts and meet the leaders.

    NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik said that they are confident that PM Narendra Modi will make an announcement including OBC as part of the 2021 census. “During the UPA government, the OBC population data was collected, but later that data was never made public by the BJP government. Despite several demands by states including Maharashtra, the empirical data was not shared by the Centre. We urge PM Modi that now in the 2021 census, the OBC should be included like other ST and SC category,” Malik added.

    Congress minister Vijay Wadettiwar, who is also OBC leader said that due to the lack of OBC data, the OBCs are deprived of the reservations in the local body elections. “BJP should not use the OBC for the electoral benefits but they should conduct the program for the welfare of the OBC. This welfare will be done once we got the authentic data of OBC in our hands. Therefore, the 2021 census is very crucial,” Wadettiwar said adding there is huge unrest among the OBC community over this issue.  

  • COVID pandemic not over yet, people should behave responsibly: Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said that people should not let their guard down as the threat of a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic still looms.

    Talking to the media after inaugurating a pediatric COVID-19 care centre in suburban Santacruz, he said the pandemic is not over yet, and “people should behave responsibly”. “Don’t forget that COVID-19 restrictions have been eased to keep the economic cycle moving. People should not fall prey to any kind of provocation which may endanger their lives and those of others,” the chief minister said.

    ALSO READ| Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray urges opposition parties to win people’s trust

    He said that the daily rise in infections and the deaths due to COVID-19 need to be brought down.

    Experts had voiced concern that a third wave might affect children the most, therefore his government set up a pediatric COVID-19 task force and also a genome sequencing lab to get proper information about the virus, Thackeray said.

    Maharashtra had on Friday reported 4,365 new coronavirus cases and 105 deaths.

  • Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray urges opposition parties to win people’s trust

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has urged the opposition parties to win people’s trust and also called upon them to stay united and strong. He made this appeal during a virtual meeting of opposition leaders convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday.

    Talking to reporters, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday said, “During the meeting, Thackeray stressed that the parties must win people’s trust.”

    “As of today, there is no lust for power among the opposition parties, but even when the chair of power is in sight, people should be able to trust the opposition parties with the belief that they will remain strong and united,” Raut quoted Thackeray as saying during the meeting.

    The Sena’s Rajya Sabha member said that Sonia Gandhi had personally called up the leaders of all parties and requested them to join the meeting.

    The meeting was attended by leaders of 19 opposition parties, including NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and four non-Congress chief ministers – TMC’s Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), DMK’s M K Stalin (Tamil Nadu) and JMM’s Hemant Soren (Jharkhand) and Uddhav Thackeray.

    During the meeting, Gandhi urged the leaders to rise above political compulsions to take on the BJP in the interest of the nation and start planning “systematically” to realise the “ultimate goal” of winning the 2024 Lok Sabha polls to provide a government that believes in the values of the freedom movement and provisions of the Constitution.

    Raut said that apart from discussion on how to prepare for the next general elections by staying united, several issues like alleged Pegasus snooping, issues concerning farmers, price rise and “attack on democracy” figured at the virtual meeting, he said.

    When asked about the developments in Afghanistan, Raut said, India faces the threat of Taliban since it has support of Pakistan and China, which are India’s enemies. “If there are voices of support for Taliban in India, the government should crush them immediately, ” he said.

  • Pawar, some CMs likely at Sonia Gandhi’s meeting for Opposition strategy against Modi government

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Top Opposition leaders including some chief ministers are expected to attend a virtual meeting called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi Friday amid efforts to evolve a common strategy against the NDA government, sources said.

    Gandhi’s office is learnt to have sent invites to NCP president Sharad Pawar and the chief ministers of West Bengal (Mamata Banerjee), Maharashtra (Uddhav Thackeray) and Tamil Nadu (MK Stalin) who have accepted the invitations.

    The meeting on August 20, which also happens to be the birth anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, is a part of the Congress party’s efforts to unite various Opposition parties on key issues confronting the country and defeat the BJP in the upcoming assembly elections.

    Several Opposition parties displayed a show of unity during the just-concluded Monsoon session of Parliament when they took on the government to seek a discussion on the Pegasus snooping row, besides the farm laws and other issues.

    The meeting also comes in the backdrop of the government demanding strict action against those indulging in unruly behaviour in Rajya Sabha during the passage of the Insurance Amendment Bill.

    The meeting also comes close on the heels of a similar dinner meet hosted by Congress leader Kapil Sibal, where top opposition leaders favoured unity among like-minded parties to defeat the BJP.

  • COVID-19 still hanging over people’s heads like sword: Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray

    By PTI

    PALGHAR: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday warned that coronavirus is still hanging over people’s heads like a sword of Damocles and the threat is far from over. The chief minister was speaking at the virtual function to inaugurate the district headquarters building complex in Palghar, and civic and government-run health facilities in Virar and Vasai.

    “Coronavirus is still hanging over our heads like a sword of Damocles and the threat is far from over. It is good that oxygen plants are being installed while setting up COVID-19 hospitals to prevent casualties,” Thackeray said.

    Talking about the facilities made available in Palghar, the chief minister said that the region was different from other districts of the state, as it had both forest land and a sea coast, with a rich tribal culture and historic locations.

    As it is adjacent to Mumbai, Palghar has been neglected for long and it will not be in the future, he said.

    Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, ministers Eknath Shinde, Dada Buse, MPs, MLAs and senior officials were present for the virtual inauguration of the administrative complex, developed by CIDCO, comprising the collector ‘s office, Zilla Parishad office and DSP office.