Cong rift again wide open,Chavan bats for Rane

Barely four weeks after former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh lobbied hard to install Ashok Chavan as his successor...

Barely four weeks after former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh lobbied hard to install Ashok Chavan as his successor and foil his bete noir Narayan Ranes bid for the coveted post,Deshmukh and Chavan are learnt to have fallen out. It was reliably learnt that the new CM is now lobbying with the party High Command to get Ranes suspension from the party revoked.

In a clear signal of souring relationship with Deshmukh,Chavan got the approval of the state Cabinet to split the Aurangabad division and make Nanded,his hometown,the divisional headquarters. According to sources,it has come as a big blow to Deshmukh who wanted to take the divisional headquarters to his native place Latur,which will now be part of the Nanded division.

Chavan announced the governments decision on Tuesday,the day he also met Rane at his residence in Mumbai. Rane had been suspended from the party after his outburst against the partys central leadership for denying him Chief Ministership in favour of Chavan.

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I dont trust even Sonia Gandhi any more, Rane had said. He was suspended from the party on disciplinary grounds. Subsequently,his son Nitesh Rane had also quit as Mumbai Youth Congress general secretary citing disillusionment with AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi.

After meeting Chavan on Monday,the suspended Congress leader deferred his plan to announce his future course of action and sought an appointment with Congress President Sonia Gandhi in a clear indication of his desire for rapprochement. I will come to Delhi in two-three days. I am still with the Congress, Rane told The Indian Express via phone from Mumbai on Monday. I will take a decision only after talking to the Congress President.

While the Congress High Command is yet to take a decision on Ranes request,AICC media cell chairperson M Veerappa Moily on Wednesday reacted sharply. The Congress is not a shelter for transit passengers. The party should think that in future if somebody comes,he should strengthen the party, he said.

Meanwhile,Chavan clarified in New Delhi on Tuesday that he had not taken the initiative to meet Rane and it was the latter who had requested for the meeting. He also denied reports that he had offered a Cabinet berth Rane.

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Although Deshmukh had backed Chavan for Chief Ministership,there was never any love lost between them. It was just to keep Rane out. The rivalry between Deshmukh and Chavan is basically about domination over Marathwada region from where both hail, said a senior Congress leader.

The theft prompted an immediate shutdown of the Louvre museum in Paris. (Pixabay)

Louvre Museum in Paris shut after thieves armed with chainsaws loot Napoleon-era jewels

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Thieves armed with chainsaws stole nine pieces of jewelry, including items belonging to Napoleon and Empress Joséphine, from the Louvre Museum. The museum was immediately shut down and a police investigation is underway. French Culture Minister Rachida Dati confirmed the incident and the Louvre remains closed. The robbers used a freight elevator and broke through glass displays.

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