Joined govt for the benefit of Maharashtra and its people: Ajit Pawar
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday said he took the decision to join the government only to use the ‘charisma’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the benefit of Maharashtra and its people.
“If people’s issues need to be solved, if development backlog needs to be recovered…the Central government under Narendra Modi has been in power for last nine years. We believe that his charisma needs to be utilised for the progressive state of Maharashtra and therefore we have taken this decision,” said Ajit at a public rally in Beed in Marathwada region.
Curriculum revamp: Indian Constitution, yoga, meditation to be mandatory for engg diploma courses
Students enrolling for engineering diploma courses in Maharashtra this year will have to learn Indian Constitution, yoga and meditation as part of their course, after the Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education (MSBTE) revamped its curriculum in line with the new National Education Policy (NEP).
The three subjects are mandatory in the new curriculum that kicks in this year, while concepts of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) will be integrated in different subjects. The course will now be credit-based, where practical knowledge is accorded importance by extending the internship period to 12 weeks from six weeks earlier.
A sessions court Tuesday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of former Mumbai mayor and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar in connection with an FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) to probe alleged irregularities in purchasing body bags for deceased Covid-19 patients.
Apprehending arrest in the case, Pednekar had earlier this month moved the sessions court seeking a pre-arrest bail. However, additional judge S B Joshi refused to grant relief. (Read More)
monthly limit of free stories.
with an Express account.
From transport to accomodation and from reception to war room, the three parties of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) have distributed responsibilities among themselves to prepare for the two-day long third meeting of nationwide Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) scheduled on August 31 and September 1.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut will be handling the war room for this meeting. “The war room will look after the preparations and handle any issues — be it logistical or security wise, arising during the event,” said a Congress leader, who is part of the preparations. (Read More)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday directed officials to speed up key infrastructure projects by promptly tackling technical and administrative matters after he reviewed the status of 10 such works, officials said.
As per a release by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), a detailed review of the projects, including Metro corridors in Pune, Nagpur, and Mumbai, irrigation works and economic zones along the Samriddhi Highway, was taken up during the meeting.
“If these works are started in time, it will help the citizens of the state along with the industrial expansion as well as the development of the rural areas,” said the release quoting Shinde.
In the meeting, Shinde directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to carry out a survey to use the new concept of twin tunnels, based on advanced technology, to solve traffic congestion in Mumbai, the release said. The CM also asked the civic body to install “grade separators” at places in Mumbai that see traffic jams to give respite to citizens, it said. (PTI)
In a unique collaboration, four educational institutions of Mumbai have joined hands with the India Dairy Association (IDA) to bust myths around the consumption of milk amid growing propaganda about vegan food choices.
On September 12, the institutions and the West Zone of the IDA will hold a seminar titled ‘Role of Milk Products in Health and Disease Prevention’ to create awareness about the goodness of milk at Hotel Kohinoor Continental, in Andheri.
According to information, food technologists or researchers in the food industry from Guru Nanak Khalsa College, Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Sir Vithaldas Thackersey College of Home Science and Mumbai Veterinary College will take part in the seminar. (Read More)
More than 20 protesters were detained on Tuesday after they walked onto the safety net suspended in the state secretariat Mantralaya in south Mumbai during an agitation staged by people affected by a dam project, police said.
The agitation was staged around 3.30 pm by members of an action committee representing people affected by the Upper Wardha dam project at Morshi in Amravati district, the official said.
The protestors demanded an increase in the compensation for land acquired for the dam and sought government jobs for the project-affected people, he said. More than 20 people were detained by the Marine Drive police during the agitation, the official said. (PTI)
Farmers belonging to the Wardha region were seen protesting in the Mantralaya against the Maharashtra government, demanding proper compensation for their land.
They jumped on the protective net placed on the first floor of the Mantralaya building in Mumbai.
Commenting on the same NCP leader Rohit Pawar said, "If the government had heard the voices of the farmers before they jumped (on the protective net in Mantralaya), then such a thing would not have happened today. The government should hear the problems being faced by the farmers despite the fact that doing such a protest in Mantralaya is not right. The drought situation in Maharashtra is dangerous..."
A 64-year-old man from Mumbai’s Vikhroli area lost Rs 6.45 lakh in a KYC (know your customer) cyber fraud. The police probe indicates that the scamster managed to pull off the fraud in a very sophisticated manner and carried out 28 fraudulent transactions one after another but the account holder did not receive even a single SMS alert.
The complainant, an elderly person, has an account in the Thane branch of a private bank. According to the police, Monday afternoon he received a call from a mobile number. The caller identified himself as an executive from the private bank where the complainant has his bank account. (Read More)
Farmers belonging to the Wardha region were seen protesting in the Mantralaya against the Maharashtra government, demanding proper compensation for their land.
They jumped on the protective net placed on the first floor of the Mantralaya building in Mumbai.
State Minister Dadaji Bhuse is currently speaking with the protesting farmers inside the Mantralaya building. Some of the farmers have been detained and sent to the Marine Drive police station.
One person died in a building collapse that took place in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Nagar area of Jalgaon in Maharashtra on Tuesday. The search and rescue operation is currently underway.
The Maharashtra Congress office is getting ready ahead of INDIA alliance meeting in Mumbai. Rahul Gandhi is likely to visit the office on September 1 after the meeting.
Kanjurmarg Police arrested a 25-year-old dumper driver for allegedly knocking down a pedestrian in Bhandup (east) on Sunday evening. The police said that the driver, who had escaped from the spot after the incident, was caught after he returned to his dumper.
According to the police officials, the deceased identified as Dadu Patel was walking towards his house in Shyamnagar in Bhandup (east), when a speeding dumper came from behind and rammed into him.
An officer said, “The dumper ran over his legs. Patel was then rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead during treatment. He died due to head injuries.” (Read More)
A female leopard and two cubs died after they came in contact with live wires laid to poach wild boars in Maharashtra's Gondia district, an official said on Tuesday. Four persons have been arrested in connection with the death of the big cats.
The incident came to light after a grazer informed forest officials about a foul smell hanging in the air in the Deori forest range in the district, the official said. (PTI)
Shiv Sena (UBT ) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut Tuesday said that there is fear in the minds of people that a Godhra-like incident can take place at the time of Ram Mandir inauguration in Ayodhya, which is scheduled to be held before the 2024 general elections.
“There is fear in people’s and several political leaders’ minds that the political party (BJP) that can stage the drama of surgical strike to win elections… it can do anything. As former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik alleged that the 2019 Pulwama attack didn’t actually take place but it was staged, similar things are also being said about the Godhra incident (in 2002), that it was engineered,” said Raut in Mumbai. Read more
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut Tuesday praised senior BJP leader and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, saying only his work can be seen in the country.
Raut’s comments came in the backdrop of the report by the Comptroller Auditor General of India (CAG) which had flagged several irregularities in the projects undertaken by the Gadkari-led Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). Read more
A 20-year-old Zimbabwean woman, who has enrolled herself in a college in India, was arrested after a bullet was found in her bag at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport here, an official said on Tuesday.
The official from Sahar police station said the woman, identified as Progress Marumbwa, claimed that the bullet was planted in her bag. The woman was to proceed to Ludhiana to pursue her first-year BSc (Medical Lab Science) in a college.
The woman arrived in Mumbai on Sunday morning and was supposed to fly to Delhi, the official said. (PTI)
Police have registered a case against a man from Maharashtra's Thane district for allegedly insulting the national flag, an official said on Tuesday.
A person from Dombivali in a police complaint claimed the man, from Ulhasnagar area, last year posted a cropped image of the national flag on his Facebook profile, showing it as placed on his leg, a police spokesperson said quoting the complaint.
This amounted to insult of the national flag, the complainant claimed.
Based on the complaint, a case was registered on Sunday against the man under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act 1971, the official said. (PTI)
A group of persons allegedly beat up a local Shiv Sena functionary in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Tuesday.
The incident took place on Sunday following which a case was registered against 20 persons, an official from Ambernath police station told PTI. Ajit Surendran Nair (39), the Shiv Sena's (Eknath Shinde group) shakha pramukh of a branch at Navre Park in Ambernath, in his police complaint said an election was in progress in a housing society in the area on Sunday, according to the official.
At that time, the accused persons arrived there and tried to pull the chairs meant for the society members. When Nair objected, they allegedly beat him up and also threatened him with dire consequences, the official said quoting the complaint. (PTI)
The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has awarded a compensation of more than Rs 1.36 crore to the family of a motorcycle rider killed in a road accident in neighbouring Thane district of Maharashtra in 2018.
In the order passed on August 21, the MACT negated the defence of the offending vehicle's insurance company that the accident occurred due to sole negligence of the deceased rider. The incident took place in December 2018 on Mumbai-Agra highway at Shahapur in Thane.
The deceased, Arvind Balasubramaniam, who worked with an IT company, was going on his motorcycle towards Igatpuri from Thane when a jeep coming from the opposite direction hit his two-wheeler.(PTI)
Floral Rangoli (Pookalam) measuring 60feet x 60feet made at the entrance of Panvel Railway Station to mark the Onam celebration by Keraliya Cultural Society, Panvel, on Tuesday.
(Express photos by Narendra vaskar)
Niti Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam on Tuesday held a meeting with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar along with senior officials from the Maharashtra government.
CM Shinde said that the focus will not only be on developing infrastructure in the cities of the state, but the government will also work in coordination with Niti Aayog for the overall financial development of Maharashtra.
A day after accusing Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar of forcing him to resign as state’s deputy chief minister over allegations in the multi-thousand crore Telgi scam, state minister and his former close aide Chhagan Bhujbal on Monday faced protests from Pawar supporters in Pune.
Though Bhujbal did not make a public statement, his office conveyed that he is firm with the points raised in the public rally in Beed. “I merely expressed my regret and did not make any allegations on anyone. Those who are protesting should give answers to questions I raised,” he reportedly said. Read more
A day after fire killed three people at the Galaxy Hotel in Santacruz (East) locality near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), the civic administration’s internal record shows that the hotel was operating without obtaining the fire-compliant certificate from the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB).
Officials from the MFB told Express on Monday an inspection carried out after the incident revealed that the fire guidelines were not implemented by the hotel management and the MFB will be disconnecting the electricity and water connection to the building. Read more
Maintaining that evidence produced by prosecution was not “cogent, consistent and trustworthy”, a special court designated under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act recently acquitted a man who was in jail for four years for allegedly possessing 200 grams of mephedrone (MD) — a banned narcotics substance.
On August 19, special Judge R R Bhagwat granted relief to one Vikram Sudhir Thakur, a resident of Govandi area, who was booked in September 2019 by the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC), Azad Maidan Unit, for possessing MD worth Rs 10 lakh. Advocate Ayaz Khan, appearing for Thakur, had argued that samples were not drawn before the magistrate as per Section 52-A (disposal of seized narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances) of the NDPS Act. Read more
Speaking about the third meeting of INDIA alliance, scheduled to be held on August 31 and September 1, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, "It's an important meeting of INDIA (opposition alliance) that is going to be held in Mumbai where our government is not in power. Several big leaders will attend it."
The Dindoshi police have booked a man, who is into interior decoration business, for allegedly duping seven people to the tune of Rs 1.02 crore. The accused person allegedly accepted money in advance from the complainant and six other victims under the pretext of getting their interior decoration and other house-related utility works done. However, the accused neither did their work, nor returned them their money, thus defrauding them. No arrest has been made yet. The accused is suspected to have duped more people.
The accused has been identified as Samar Shah, alias Irfan Mehmood. The accused had allegedly operated from an office in the Express Zone on Western Express Highway, Malad (East). Police have booked Mehmood on the complaint of Nilesh Mahamunkar, (43), a resident of Goregaon (East). Read more
“They lashed me with wires and sticks on my bare back and kept me hanging for over an hour in the cowshed. The humiliation was more agonising than the lashes. I wanted to suppress my tears, but I just kept crying. All the while I was asking myself what my crime was…”, the 18-year-old recounted the ordeal from his bed in the general ward of Sakhar Kamgar Hospital in Shrirampur town, Ahmednagar district.
He is one of the four youths, aged between 15 and 21, who were allegedly semi-stripped, hung upside down and brutally lashed with wires and sticks over suspicion of stealing pigeons from the house of one of the accused in Haregaon village, Ahmednagar, on August 25.
Read the full report by Sushant Kulkarni here
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said the state secured the top rank in attracting Foreign Direct Investment worth Rs 36,634 crore which is more than the sum of the investment received by Delhi, Karnataka and Telangana in the first quarter of FY 2023-24.
“Maharashtra which was ranked first in attracting FDI of Rs 1,18,422 crore in the FY 2022-23, also ranks first in the 1st quarter of FY 2023-24. As per the figures released by DPIIT, an FDI investment of Rs 36,634 crore has come in Maharashtra," he said on X, formerly Twitter. (PTI)
Huge response to rallies being addressed by NCP leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar indicates growing support for his decision to join the Shiv Sena-BJP government, state party unit chief Sunil Tatkare, who belongs to the Ajit Pawar camp, claimed on Monday. Ajit Pawar's rally at Beed in Marathwada region was attended by a large number of people on Sunday. He was given a grand welcome in his assembly constituency and Sharad Pawar bastion Baramati in Pune district on Saturday. (PTI)
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday warned Shiv Sena ( UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray to not cross his limits or else face serious consequences. The stern remark came a day after Thackeray’s attack on Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said, “The BJP will not tolerate any uncharitable remark made against DyCM Devendra Fadnavis. We warn Shiv Sena ( UBT) to take this seriously. Otherwise, our workers will be forced to retaliate… Thackeray will not be able to bear the consequences.” Read More
Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, once a confidant of Sharad Pawar, has alleged the NCP chief made him resign as Maharashtra deputy chief minister based on mere allegations about the "Telgi scam" in 2003 though he had ordered the arrest of the fake stamp paper racket's kingpin.
Addressing a rally in Beed on Sunday, Bhujbal, now a member of the Ajit Pawar camp of NCP, also said nobody sought senior Pawar's resignation in the 1990s when allegations were levelled against him by some people, including G R Khairnar, then deputy municipal commissioner of Bombay (now Mumbai) civic body. (PTI)
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole told reporters that like Mahatma Gandhi's 'Quit India' clarion call, the INDIA alliance will issue the 'BJP chale jao' slogan during its meet in Mumbai this week.
The BJP will organise a ‘dahi handi’ celebration on Krishna Janmashtami in Worli which happens to be Shiv Sena (UBT) youth leader and MLA Aaditya Thackeray's constituency.
Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar on Monday said, “It was Devendra Fadnavis and BJP which fought the battle in the court to restore the dahi handi festival. It helped hundreds of enthusiasts govindas (youths) who participate in this annual celebration."
Shelar said, “This year, we will organise dahi handi at Worli. When BJP stood by these govindas (participants), Thackeray and others ridiculed us. During his tenure as CM, Maha Vikas Aghadi had done nothing to save Hindu festivals.”
Commenting on Thackeray's response to space mission, Shelar asked, “Uddhav ji, why were you reminded of felicitating the Chandrayaan-3 mission only after Pakistan extended its greetings? Why didn’t you congratulate the scientists before that? All this while what was it that was bothering you so much? Was there something that India earned, the scientists conquered, the world witnessed but you were not quite satisfied with?"
“INDIA’s meeting is more about ensuring family interests rather than national interests,” Mumbai BJP chief opined. Hypothetically, he added, “even if we consider that this alliance comes to power, these people will take their respective parties, the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha all for a ride.”
Four persons were arrested and 10 others are wanted for allegedly killing a 40-year-old man and injuring two, including a boy, in Mumbai's Chunnabhatti area in connection with an earlier police complaint against them, an official said.
On Saturday night, the accused had stopped Sajid Ali Qureshi and stabbed him several times as his brother had complained to the police against them earlier, the Chunabhatti police station official said.
The Navi Mumbai police have registered a case against a man for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl repeatedly following which she became pregnant.
The police said the accused, from Kamothe in Navi Mumbai, and the victim, resident of Turbhe area, got in touch with each other through social media platform Instagram in January 2021 and had an affair. The accused allegedly raped the girl repeatedly at his residence following which she became pregnant in May 2023, an official from Kamothe police station told PTI.
The man's mother was aware of everything, but she did not object to the offence, he said.
A man and his son are feared drowned after they fell into a creek while taking a selfie in Maharashtra's Palghar district.
The police are yet to locate the two persons who fell into the creek Killa Bunder in Vasai on Sunday. The father-son duo had gone to the creek to dispose off some flowers, and were trying to take a selfie, when they slipped and fell into the water.
In the aftermath of the Irshalwadi landslide that claimed more than 80 lives, Prakash Gajbhiye, director of Geological Survey of India (Pune), talks to Pratip Acharya about Maharashtra’s vulnerability towards landslides and the root cause behind such natural hazards in the state and its capital–Mumbai.
Read the full interview here
A senior leader from Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s group was trying to connect with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for eight days, unsuccessfully. The leader’s personal assistant grew tired of hearing that the CM was busy or not available. Finally, a strong message from the leader’s office to an IAS officer got things moving. The leader, incidentally, had easy access to former CM Uddhav Thackeray. Read more
Students enrolling for engineering diploma courses in Maharashtra this year will have to learn Indian Constitution, yoga and meditation as part of their course, after the Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education (MSBTE) revamped its curriculum in line with the new National Education Policy (NEP).
The three subjects are mandatory in the new curriculum that kicks in this year, while concepts of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) will be integrated in different subjects. Read more
Ahead of the Opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)’s meeting in Mumbai on August 31 and September 1, senior leaders of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) including Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Congress leader Ashok Chavan met to oversee the preparations and discuss the key details.
Farmers and traders had on Sunday gone on an indefinite strike demanding that onion-carrying containers stuck at various ports, including the Jawaharlal Nehru Port, should be allowed outside India without the 40 per cent export duty imposed by the Central Government.
Read the Mumbai news wrap here
Posters and hoardings were seen across Mumbai as the date of the INDIA alliance meeting drew near. It further emerged that Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge will be attending the meeting scheduled for August 31 and September 1.
A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay High Court seeking that a paragraph providing for the "split and merger" of political parties in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution be declared as illegal and ultra vires and in contravention of its basic structure.
The petitioner Meenakshi Menon, a media and marketing professional and a founder trustee of NGO Vanshakti, has claimed that this provision was used by politicians for group defections and voters are betrayed because of such unabated group defections. “Unabated group defections in the form of splits and mergers under paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution has become a part of political culture with complete disregard to the act of betrayal to voters,” the PIL said.
Defections in the form of split and merger under the provision is leading to further alienation of the general public to the process of elections itself, wherein thousands of crores of taxpayers' money are spent without any accountability, it said.
The ruling alliance of BJP, CM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP will hold a meeting in Mumbai on August 31 and September 1.
These are also the dates when Opposition alliance INDIA will be meeting in Mumbai.
The Mumbai Police have arrested one more person in connection with the assault and abduction of a music company's chief executive officer (CEO) over a financial dispute, taking the total number of arrests in the case to four, an official said on Monday.
The latest arrested accused has been identified as Vicky Shetty, who was picked up from Karnataka on Saturday, the official from Vanrai police station here said. (PTI)
Equity benchmark indices climbed in early trade on Monday tracking strength in global markets. The BSE Sensex climbed 177.63 points to 65,064.14 in early trade. The NSE Nifty gained 62.2 points to 19,328.
From the Sensex pack, Jio Financial Services Ltd, Tata Steel, Larsen & Toubro, Sun Pharma, Power Grid, HDFC Bank and JSW Steel were among the gainers. HCL Technologies, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, Nestle and Titan were among the laggards. (PTI)
The island city recorded 34 mm of rains in past 24 hours, followed by 25.25 mm and 20.06 mm in western and eastern suburbs. According to IMD officials, light to moderate rains will continue over Mumbai along with Palghar and Thane throughout the day.
Three persons from Gujarat died, while two others were injured after a fire broke out at Galaxy Hotel in Santacruz East, near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), in Mumbai on Sunday afternoon. Personnel from the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) said that the hotel didn’t have any in-built fire fighting system other than conventional fire extinguisher cylinders.