News Analysis India

Tag: Uddhav Thackeray

  • Shiv Sena to contest West Bengal elections, says party as Uddhav gives nod

    Express News Service
    MUMBAI: Shiv Sena has decided to contest the upcoming West Bengal state assembly election.

    Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut and party chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut informed that they had a meeting with Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday where this decision contesting West Bengal polls has been taken.

    After the meeting, Sanjay Raut immediately tweeted, “So, here is the much-awaited update. After discussions with Party Chief Shri Uddhav Thackeray, Shivsena has decided to contest the West Bengal Assembly Elections. We are reaching Kolkata soon…!! Jai Hind.”

    Sources in Shiv Sena said that Sanjay Raut will go to Kolkata and meet the cadre and decide how many seats and which one should be contested in the total number of 298 seats of West Bengal state assembly. On the other hand, the BJP is also trying hard to poach the Trinamool Congress Party lawmakers ahead of the polls.

    Interestingly, Shiv Sena is the alliance partner of the Congress and the NCP, but in West Bengal, it has decided to go solo rather than tying with any political front. Congress has decided to ally with the Left front.

    Sources in Sena said that the Sena leadership knew that they will not win any seats, but its main intension is to damage the BJP by eating the Hindu votes. “The BJP and the Shiv Sena share the same ideology and so Sena has calculations that if they contest that they will surely damage the prospect of the BJP in West Bengal. Besides, it has no shortage of resources now. Therefore, the Sena is likely to field the candidates where the BJP is strong. Besides, Sena has also planned to attract the disgruntled leaders and prospective candidates in BJP who will be denied the tickets in the polls,” the source added requesting anonymity.

    Sena will not fight to win the elections but to damage the chances of the BJP. “But the voters are shrewd and they will not vote to Sena. People generally vote to the main competitors but there are some sections that go with the local leaders. If the Sena gets such strong local leaders and in the multi contest, the victory margin is always thin so the candidates of Sena grabbing the small numbers of the vote can cost heavy to BJP. It is very difficult to predict everything now. But Sena will do everything to damage BJP and help incumbent chief minister Mamata Banerjee.”

  • Maha Vikas Aghadi allies Shiv Sena, Congress spar over renaming Aurangabad city

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena and the Congress, which are ruling allies in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, on Sunday sparred over renaming Aurangabad city, with the Uddhav Thackeray-led party saying it is not “secular” behaviour if one finds “cruel and religiously blind” Mughal emperor Aurangzeb “dear”.

    Hitting back, the Congress accused the Sena and the opposition BJP of playing politics over renaming and asked them why they did not they remember the issue while they were in power in Maharashtra for the past five years.

    However, Maharashtra Congress president Balasaheb Thorat maintained that the MVA government of the Sena, NCP and Congress in the state is stable. Thorat, who holds Revenue portfolio, also said the government works as per the common minimum programme (CMP) and there is no scope for the “politics of sentiment”.

    ALSO READ| Will incorporate ‘Karnataka-occupied areas’ into Maharashtra: CM Uddhav

    Erstwhile allies, the Sena and the BJP, have been pitching for renaming Aurangabad as ‘Sambhajinagar’ after Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

    Writing for ‘Rokhthok’, the weekly column in Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, party MP Sanjay Raut said, “secular parties like the Congress are of the view that Aurangabad should not be renamed as Sambhajinagar”.

    He said these parties feel that minority communities like Muslims will not be happy if Aurangabad is renamed and it will affect their vote banks, which will raise questions over their “secular image”. Raut stressed that Aurangzeb was not secular but “a cruel” administrator. “Aurangzeb was religiously blind and harboured hatred towards other religions,” he wrote.

    Raut stated that the Mughal emperor considered Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as his enemy and killed Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj brutally. “There should be no city named after such Aurangzeb at least in Maharashtra. This (demand) is not religious blindness. Call it ‘Shivbhakti’ (devotion to Shivaji Maharaj), Maharashtra’s self-esteem or the sense of history. Prostrating before those who find Aurangzeb dear! This is not secular behaviour!” Raut said.

    Countering the Sena, Thorat said those who were in power at the Centre and in Maharashtra for the past five years are now playing renaming politics. He asked why did not the parties (read the Shiv Sena and the BJP) remember the renaming issue while they were in power.

    The Congress leader further said that the Sena and the BJP have let down the people of Aurangabad despite being in power in the municipal corporation. “The renaming issue is being raked up now to mislead the local people. Our ally in the state, the Shiv Sena, is worried about its votes. Hence it has initiated this ‘Saamana’ (match) of renaming,” Thorat said.

    He said pretentiousness is the core attitude of the BJP. “The people look at it (BJP)…how it behaves and speaks as entertainment,” Thorat said.

    Without naming any party, Thorat further said those who play politics using names of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj need not teach him or his party about the duo. “We are Marathi people and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj are our deities. We will not seek votes using our role models and we will strongly oppose if anyone does so,” he added.

    Notwithstanding the differences in views between the two MVA allies on the issue, the revenue minister said that the state government is stable and strong. “No one should feel over-joyous (over differences between the allies on the renaming issue),” Thorat added.

  • Will incorporate ‘Karnataka-occupied areas’ into Maharashtra: CM Uddhav Thackeray

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said his government is committed towards incorporating into the state the areas of Karnataka where Marathi-speaking people are in majority.

    This will be the “true tribute” to martyrs of the cause, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said in a tweet. Maharashtra claims Belgaum and some other areas, part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency but currently in Karnataka, on linguistic grounds.

    कर्नाटकव्याप्त मराठी भाषिक आणि सांस्कृतिक प्रदेश महाराष्ट्रात आणणे हीच या सीमा लढ्यात हौतात्म्य पत्करलेल्या सैनिकांना आदरांजली ठरणार आहे. त्यासाठी आम्ही एकजूट आणि कटिबद्ध आहोत. या अभिवचनासह हूतात्म्यांना विनम्र अभिवादन
    — CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) January 17, 2021

    Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti, a regional organisation fighting for the merger of Belgaum and some other border areas with Maharashtra, observes January 17 as the ‘martyrs’ day’ for those who laid down their lives for the cause in 1956.

    “Bringing Karnataka-occupied Marathi-speaking and cultural areas in Maharashtra will be the true tribute to those who accepted martyrdom in the boundary battle. We are united and committed towards it. Respects to the martyrs with this promise,” the CMO tweeted.

    Maharashtra claims certain areas, including Belgaum, Karwar and Nippani which are part of Karnataka, contending that the majority of population in these areas is Marathi- speaking. The dispute between the two states over Belgaum and other border areas is pending before the Supreme Court for many years.

    Thackeray last year appointed Maharashtra ministers Eknath Shinde and Chhagan Bhujbal as co-coordinators to oversee the state government’s efforts to expedite the case related to the boundary dispute.

  • Political blamegame errupts as Thackeray government downgrades BJP leaders’ security

    By Express News Service
    MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s decision to scale down the security cover of opposition leaders, while extending it for Maha Vikas Aghadi ministers and leaders, has drawn flak from the BJP, which termed the action as vendetta politics.

    However, Congress came out in support of the Tackeray government, stating that the security cover upgrade or downgrade was based on police report after analysing the situation.

    The grade of security given to former chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was reduced to Y plus escort from Z.

    Fadnavis’ wife and daughter’s security cover too witnessed a downgrade. Maharashtra BJP state president, who had been given Y plus security, would have none now.

    Meanwhile, MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s cover was brought down to Y plus security from Z.

    Shatraghan Sinha found his cover had been upgraded to Y plus escort from Y, while U B Nikam’s Z security was upgraded to Z plus in Mumbai.

    Estranged Congress leader Kripashankar Singh’s security cover has been scrapped altogether.

    Union minister for state Ramdas Athwale’s security cover has reduced to Y from the earlier Y plus escort, while former governor of Uttar Pradesh Ram Naik, former BJP minister Ashish Shelar and former Sena Minister Deepak Kesarkar’s found their security cover downgraded to Y from Y plus.

    The police department also cancelled the security cover extended to several BJP leaders, including Sudhir Mungantiwar, former CM Narayan Rane, BJP MLC Prasad Lad, BJP MLA Ram Kadam, Haribhau Bagade, Rausaheb Danave, BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari, Shobhatai Fadnavis etc.

    Maharashtra state legislative council chairman Ramraje Nimbalkar and Maha Vikas Aghadi minister Vijay Wadettiwar have been given Y plus escort security cover in Mumbai.

    Besides, Shiv Sena youth leader Varun Sardesai, Sena MLA Vaibhav Naik, Minister Abdul Sattar and Minister Dilip Walse Patil and Sunil Kedar have been also provided with security cover.  

    Interestingly, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s spouse Sunetra Pawar was given the X security by Uddhav Thackeray government.

    Lashing out at the government, the opposition called the action as vendetta politics. However, Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant referred to the action of the Modi government, reducing the security cover of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka.

    “Was it vendetta politics then? Maha Vikas Aghadi is not into vendetta politics. The security was reduced or scrapped or upgraded as per the internal report of the police department,” Sawant added. 

  • Maharashtra govt slashes security cover of Fadnavis, Raj Thackeray

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has reduced the security of Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Devendra Fadnavis and his family, former UP governor Ram Naik and MNS president Raj Thackeray, and withdrawn the security cover of state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil.

    State BJP spokesman Keshav Upadhye termed it as “vendetta politics”, while former chief minister Fadnavis said this would not impact his plans to travel and meet people.

    As per a government notification issued on January 8, Fadnavis will now get ‘Y-plus security with escort’, instead of the ‘Z-plus’ cover.

    The security of his wife Amruta Fadnavis and daughter Divija has been downgraded from ‘Y-plus with escort’ to ‘X’ category.

    Former Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik will now get ‘Y’ cover instead of ‘Y-plus’.

    MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s security cover has been downgraded from ‘Z’ to ‘Y plus with escort’.

    The security covers of BJP leader and former CM Narayan Rane, state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil and senior party leader Sudhir Mungantiwar have been withdrawn.

    Rane had ‘Y-plus’ security.

    Besides, the security of state Lokayukta M L Tahiliani has been downgraded from ‘Z’ to ‘Y’.

    The government, as per the notification, has upgraded the security of two persons, downgraded of 11, withdrawn of 16, while 13 new people have got security cover.

    Prominent among the new persons to get security are Sunetra Pawar, wife of state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and Varun Sardesai, secretary of the Yuva Sena and nephew of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s wife Rashmi Thackeray.

    Both have been given ‘X’ security cover.

    Union minister Ramdas Athawale will get only ‘wireless’ instead of the ‘Y-plus with escort’, while central minister Raosaheb Danve’s ‘Y-plus’ cover has been withdrawn.

    The government has also withdrawn the security cover of former minister Rajkumar Badole, BJP MLAs Prasad Lad and Ram Kadam, and former speaker and BJP legislator Haribhau Bagde.

    The state has also withdrawn the ‘X’ category security of former Mumbai Congress chief Kripashankar Singh, who quit the party, andBJP’s former minister Shobhatai Fadnavis, an aunt of Devendra Fadnavis.

    Senior advocate Ujjwal Nikam’s ‘Y-plus with escort’ cover has been upgraded to ‘Z’, while film actor and Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha’s ‘Y-plus’ cover has been upgraded to ‘Y-plus with escort’.

    The security of BJP’s former minister Ashish Shelar has been downgraded from ‘Y-plus’ to ‘Y’.

    State Legislative Council Chairman Ramraje Naik Nimbalkarand Relief and Rehabilitation minister Vijay Wadettiwar will get ‘Y-plus with escort’, while Shiv Sena MLA Vaibhav Naik, who had defeated Narayan Rane in the 2014 Assembly polls, will get ‘X’ security cover.

    Current state ministers Sandeepan Bhumre, Sunil Kedar, Dilip Walse Patil and Abdul Sattar, Leader of Opposition in the Council Pravin Darekar and state Assembly’s Deputy Speaker Narhari Zhirwal have been given ‘Y’ cover.

    Meanwhile, state BJP spokesman Keshav Upadhye alleged that the security of Fadnavis and other BJP leaders was downgraded out of “political vendetta”.

    “The decision shows what kind of a mindset the government has, and it is unfortunate. During the COVID-19 lockdown period, Fadnavis was travelling to the nook and corner of the state, while Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was sitting at home,” he claimed.

    Upadhye said Fadnavis was the first to reach Bhandara where 10 babies died in fire at a hospital on Saturday.

    “Even if the entire security cover is removed, he (Fadnavis) would continue to travel in the state and highlight the voice of the people,” the BJP leader said.

    Reacting to the government’s decision, Fadnavis said he had no complaints or worry.

    “I am a people’s person and this doesn’t impact my travel (schedules) to meet people,” he said.

    Narayan Rane said he was given security by Mumbai police because he had a threat from terrorists.

    “I have no complaints. If anything happens to me, the state government is to be blamed,” he said.

    Sudhir Mungantiwar said he was given security due to Naxal threat.

    “I thank the government for withdrawing my security cover. This means the Naxal threat doesn’t exist. Our aim to highlight people’s voice will be more stronger,” he said.

  • Maharashtra to give Rs 5 lakh ex gratia for kin of infants who died in hospital fire, govt orders inquiry

    By ANI
    MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday ordered an inquiry into the Bhandara District General Hospital fire that took the life of 10 infants.

    State Health Minister Rajesh Tope also announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of children who died in the fire.

    As per a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s office, Thackeray expressed deep sorrow over the death of infants who died in the fire at the Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of the hospital.

    ALSO READ | Ten newborn babies die in fire at Maharashtra’s Bhandara district hospital

    “Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has expressed deep sorrow over the death of newborn babies in a fire that broke out in a child care unit at the district hospital in Bhandara. As soon as he came to know about the incident, he spoke to Health Minister Rajesh Tope and directed an immediate inquiry into the whole incident. The Chief Minister has also spoken to the District Collector and the Superintendent of Police and they too have been directed to investigate,” CMO said.

    Expressing his grief over the incident, Health Minister Tope said he will visit the incident site at 5 pm today.

    As many as 10 children died in a fire that broke out SNCU of Bhandara District General Hospital at 2 am on Saturday. 

  • Maharashtra: Rift in MVA govt as Congress, Sena spar over renaming of Aurangabad 

    By Express News Service
    MUMBAI: The rift in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra over the renaming of Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar has been widening.

    Despite state Congress president Balasaheb Thorat’s objections, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) has been using Sambhaji Nagar for Aurangabad. 

    While both Congress and Shiv Sena have stuck to their respective political agenda, this difference has no threat to the government.

    Shiv Sena has decided to use Sambhaji Nagar even though the change of name has not been approved officially by the Maha Vikas Agahdi just to keep its vote bank happy. On the other hand, Congress is opposing the move though it is falling on the deaf ear.

    The difference between the parties surfaced after the CMO, in one of the tweets about cabinet decisions on last Wednesday, mentioned Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar. The state Congress took objection to it.

    The tweet read: “Approval has been granted to additional 165 beds and creation of 360 new posts at the government medical college in Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad).” Congress leader and Minister for Medical Education Amit Deshmukh was tagged in the tweet. 

    Soon after Maharashtra Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat tweeted reiterating his party’s opposition to any attempts to change the name of the city.

    “The Directorate of Information and Publicity should not rename cities on its own. Renaming of cities is not on the common minimum Programme (CMP) of the MVA government,” Thorat said. The MVA government is committed to what is promised in the CMP, he said.

    “We want to reassert that we are opposed to renaming any city to ensure that social harmony prevails,” Thorat, who is also the state Revenue Minister, said.  “Chhatrapati Shambhaji Maharaj is our revered deity. The renaming politics in his name should be avoided. Let’s work together for Aurangabad’s development,” Thorat said. 

  • Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray seeks Centre’s order on Aurangabad airport renaming

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Amid a row over the demand to change the name of Aurangabad, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday urged the Centre to issue a notification at the earliest for renaming the Aurangabad Airport after Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.

    Thackeray has written a letter to this effect to Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

    In the letter, the chief minister has told Puri about the state cabinet’s decision to rename the airport after Chhatrapati SambhajiMaharaj, son of Maratha warrior king Shivaji Maharaj.

    “A unanimous resolution has also been passed in both the houses of the state legislature,” he said in the letter.

    The Maharashtra cabinet had in March 2020 decided to rename the Aurangabad Airport after Sambhaji Maharaj.

    The airport is situated in Chikhalthana area of Aurangabad.

    The Shiv Sena, which shares power with the NCP and the Congress in Maharashtra, has been demanding for the past couple of decades that Aurangabad be renamed as Sambhajinagar.

    However, the Congress has said that it was against any such move.