Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 3 (ANI): The election of the Speaker for the Maharashtra Assembly is set to take place on Sunday after the new Eknath Shinde government took over following the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) rule in the state.

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 4 (ANI): Leaders of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Wednesday met here in the presence of Nationalist Congress Party supremo Shard Pawar, amidst the ongoing loudspeaker row in Maharashtra, in which a case has been registered against MNS chief Raj Thackeray.

Mumbai Apr 20 PTI In a major reshuffle the Maharashtra government on Wednesday promoted or transferred around 40 senior police officers including Nashik police commissioner Deepak Pandey who has been replaced days after he reportedly alleged that land mafias were hand in glove with a section of revenue department officials and faced flak for going public on the issueTransfers and promotions were announced in multiple official ordersJayant Naiknavare deputy inspector general of police VIP security will replace Pandey as the Nashik police commissionerPandey who was criticised by Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat for making the allegation in the media has been appointed special inspector general prevention of atrocities on women departmentIn the backdrop of loudspeaker row Pandey had issued directives a few days ago stating no one will be allowed to play bhajan or songs on loudspeakers within 15-minute period before and after the call of azaan in the radius of 100 meters of any mosque in Nashik cityThe directives were issued in the wake of MNS president Raj Thackerays demand that loudspeakers atop mosques be removed by May 3 or else Hanuman Chalisa will be played on loudspeakers in front of themThe government has also transferred Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissioner Krishna Prakash who will be the new special police inspector general VIP security MaharashtraSpecial police inspector general Ankush Shinde will replace Prakash as the Pimpri-Chinchwad police commissioner In another development Milind Bharambe joint commissioner of police JCP Mumbai has been transferred and posted as special inspector generalPune JCP Ravindra Shisve has been appointed IG state human rights commission while senior officer Sureshkumar Mekala has been named IG State CIDAnti-Corruption Bureau ACB DIG Lakhmi Gautam has been transferred as IG establishment in the Maharashtra police headquarters while Sandeep Karnik has been promoted and appointed JCP in Pune cityAnother senior officer Satyanarayan has been appointed IG coastal security Praveenkumar Padwal joint commissioner of police EOW while S Jaykumar has been promoted as IG administration in the state police headquartersIPS officer Nishith Mishra has been posted as IG Anti-Terrorism Squad Sanjay Mohite promoted as IG Konkan range Dattatray Karale promoted as JCP Thane Pravin Pawar promoted as Director Maharashtra Intelligence Academy and B G Shekhar as IG Nashik rangeIn all the government has promoted 14 officials as special police inspector general and transferred many of them elsewhere Eleven officials were promoted as deputy inspector general and transferred from their current place of posting PTI ENMDC RSY RSY

Mumbai Mar 22 PTI The Maharashtra government on Tuesday ordered a temporary stay on the recovery of non-agricultural NA tax by the state revenue department from housing societies in Mumbais suburbs Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat made this announcement in the Legislative Assembly BJP MLAs including Ashish Shelar had raised concerns over the recovery of NA tax saying people are yet to recover from the pandemic blues Shelar argued that the tax is imposed on around 20000 housing societies every year even after it is paid at the time of construction Another BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar seconded Shelar and demanded that the government abolish the NA tax altogether It is true we have received complaints on a big scale in this regard A delegation led by Shelar had met me Another delegation led by Amin Patel of Congress too had called on me Thorat said We are staying the recovery of NA tax temporarily the minister said adding that the issues raised by the MLAs will be looked into Shelar also demanded that the revenue minister form a committee of MLAs of all parties from Mumbais suburbs to discuss abolishing the tax PTI ENM NSK NSK

Mumbai Feb 22 PTI Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday e-inaugurated the construction of Siddharth Nagar Patra Chawl redevelopment project in Goregaon here Thackeray took part in the inaugural event via an online platform while NCP president Sharad Pawar Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat Housing Development Minister Jitendra Awhad and others attended it physically In his address the chief minister urged the chawl tenants to not forget their struggle for homes and urged them to not sell the houses later and leave Mumbai Awhad said MHADA will ensure people get their homes in the next three years PTI ENM BNM BNM

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 30 (ANI): Maharashtra Minister Balasaheb Thorat has been tested positive for COVID-19.

Mumbai Dec 27 PTI Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Monday said it is mandatory for a governor to accept recommendations of the state cabinet a day after a delegation of the Maharashtra government met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to seek his approval for holding the Assembly Speakers election during the ongoing winter session of the legislature Talking to reporters here Raut said Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari studies a lot So much study is not good in a democracy What matters is listening to the voice of the people It is mandatory for the governor to accept recommendations of the cabinet said the Rajya Sabha member whose party shares power with the NCP and Congress in Maharashtra State Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde of Shiv Sena Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat Congress and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal NCP met the governor at the Raj Bhavan here on Sunday evening Later Thorat said they handed over to Koshyari a letter written by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray seeking his approval for the election schedule for the speakers post The governor sought details of the amendments to the legislative rules about holding the election through voice vote instead of ballot He said he will discuss and seek more information from legal experts and convey his decision by tomorrow the Congress leader said Shinde said the change in procedure of holding the speakers election was done as per the rules and they were confident that the governor would give his approval soon The winter session of the state legislature began on December 22 and will end on December 28 The Assembly speakers post has been lying vacant since February this year after Nana Patole resigned to take charge as the state Congress chief After the meeting with Koshyari on Sunday Thorat and Shinde said the governor neither discussed the issue of suspension of 12 BJP MLAs from the Assembly during the previous monsoon session nor talked about the long-pending nomination of 12 members to the Legislative Council from the governors quota PTI MR GK GK

Mumbai Dec 23 PTI The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed the Shakti Criminal Laws Maharashtra Amendment Bill that provides for stricter punishment including death penalty for crimes against women and childrenThe bill which also provides for speedy trial in such cases was tabled by Home Minister Dilip Walse-PatilIt will now be placed before the Legislative CouncilThe bill modelled on the Disha Act of Andhra Pradesh was first tabled in the Maharashtra legislature in the 2020 winter session but the government then referred it to a joint committee for scrutinyThe committee held 13 meetings and submitted some recommendations which were presented in the legislature on WednesdayThe bill provides for capital punishment for certain crimes against women and children and prescribes a period of 30 days to complete probe once a complaint is lodgedIt puts the onus on social media platforms and Internet service providers to provide data if needed for investigations purposesThe joint committee had recommended that probe in such cases be completed within 30 days and extension of 30 more days can be given by senior police officials if valid reasons are providedIf a probe officer demands data it should be provided within seven days the recommendations said adding that failure to do so by social media platforms or internetmobile data providers may attract imprisonment of up to three months orand fine up to Rs 25 lakhWalse-Patil said the bill also provides for punishment of one to three years in prison and a fine of Rs 1 lakh for lodging a false complaint of sexual assaultAll stakeholders were taken on board the minister said For instance the committee also met police officials to know their perspective regarding the probe of such cases he saidThe bill proposes addition of a new section 354E to the Indian Penal Code to deal with outraging modesty of women men and transgender persons through electronic or digital meansDuring the debate on the Bill Devendra Fadnavis Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly said while the bill has a provision for designated courts to deal with such offenses there is a need for dedicated courts for women to make the law more effectiveEarlier in the day Revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat also introduced the Maharashtra Stamp Amendment Bill in the Assembly PTI PR KRK KRK

Mumbai Dec 18 PTI Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday demanded immediate action on part of the Karnataka government in view of the alleged desecration of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharajs statue in Bengaluru He demanded the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in stopping Kannada atrocities and the pervert mindset Stating that Shivaji Maharaj is the deity of not only Maharashtra but of the entire country Thackeray who heads Shiv Sena said any disrespect and insult to the founder of the Maratha empire will not be tolerated A statue of the 17th Century king was allegedly desecrated in the Karnataka capital Following this incident a crowd hurled stones at police and government vehicles in Belagavi around midnight official sources said Maharashtra is locked in a bitter border dispute with Karnataka for the inclusion of border areas including Belagavi in the western state PM Modi should direct the Karnataka government to take action in the matter This incident alleged desecration of the statue cannot be taken lightly For several years Marathi-speaking people in Karnataka are facing atrocities Now the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is desecrated Thackeray said in a statement He referred to the speech delivered by PM Modi in Varanasi recently where he had mentioned Chhatrapati Shivaji PM Modi had said in Varanasi that whenever Indias culture was crushed warrior kings like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj have risen But just a few days after Modis remarks Shivaji Maharajs statue is attacked in Karnataka which is ruled by BJP Instead of taking action the voice of the Marathi people is being suppressed This is condemnable the CM said Thackeray demanded that the prime minister intervene to stop Kannada atrocities on the Marathi people It should be kept in mind that hurting the Marathi pride will prove costly The Centre should give up double standards and take stern steps he said Maharashtra Urban Development Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde said the Karnataka government will be responsible for any reaction to the incident wherein ink was thrown at the statue of Shivaji Maharaj Shinde is the coordination minister for Marathi-dominated border areas of Karnataka The statement of Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai that the incident was minor was also condemnable he said in a statement NCP leader and cabinet minister Chhagan Bhujbal said BJP had used Shivaji Maharaj only for its election campaign Maharashtra will not tolerate the insult of the warrior king said Bhujbal who is also the coordinating minister for the Marathi-dominated border areas in Karnataka The Karnataka government started holding a legislature session in Belgaum to claim its right over the city he said adding that moves of the Karnataka government against Marathi people will never succeed We will win the fight on the streets and in courts over the inclusion of Marathi-speaking areas in Maharashtra he said Congress leader and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat and Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil who belongs to NCP also condemned the incident and said the insult of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will not be tolerated PTI MR NSK NSK

Mumbai Nov 19 PTI Welcoming the Centres decision to repeal the three contentious farm laws the Shiv Sena and the NCP which share power in Maharashtra on Friday said the government had to finally bow down before the agitating farmers The Congress which is the third partner in the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA alliance in the state alleged that the Centre had brought the three farm laws for the benefit of traders and not in the interest of farmers It also asked the ruling BJP to aologise to the country and farmers for creating a difficult situation by bringing the laws Addressing the nation on the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti on Friday morning Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the government has decided to repeal the three farm laws which were at the centre of protests by farmers for the past year Reacting to the development Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said For the first time PM Modi has expressed the mann ki baat of people BJP leaders were openly calling these farmers Khalistanis and Pakistanis but the Union government had to bow before the farmers pressure More than 400 farmers lost their lives during the protests on the borders of Delhi Had Modi listened to our demands many lives would have been saved But the government was adamant and refused to listen to the farmers issues the Sena MP added Nawab Malik chief spokesperson of the NCP said in a tweet Jhukati hai duniya jhukane wala chahiye We salute all the farmers many of them gave their life The three farm laws have been withdrawn Talking to reporters later Malik said In last seven years PM Modi never spoke with any opposition leader or farmer leader regarding the three farm laws Now they have realised that a major political change is taking place in the country and its indications could be seen in UP elections next year We should not forget that in the last seven years no decision was withdrawn in this manner This is a major step from his Modis side the NCP leader said Congress leader and Maharashtra minister Balasaheb Thorat said The three farm laws were brought to protect big traders and not farmers The clauses in the farm laws were helping traders to become more powerful There was no legal provision to book traders who cheated farmers The laws did not offer any protection to farmers he said adding that traders were allowed to buy the farm produce in large quantity and hoard it for longer period Such provisions would have led to traders misusing it to book huge profits It also means that farmers as well as urban consumers would have felt the heat The traders would have procured the farm produce at lower rates from farmers and after hoarding it they could have sold it to urban consumers at higher rates The big traders would have become bigger and more powerful the revenue minister said The contract farming clauses were not properly explained or defined in these laws It could have further led to farmers losing their agricultural land he said The farmers protest was just and right Punjab farmers have huge contribution to this country The Union government is not even ready to speak about its early promise of giving 15 times the rates of minimum support price he said The BJP needs to apologise to the country and farmers for pushing them into such a situation It has to take the responsibility for its actions Thorat added Independent MLA Bacchu Kadu who is Maharashtras Minister of State for Water Resources said We should not get unnecessarily elated over the announcement to withdraw these farm laws The policy of the Union government is largely anti-farmers he alleged For instance the production of tur in the country is more than the actual requirement Despite that the Modi government is planning to import 10 lakh tonnes of tur which will result in crashing of the prices and ultimately farmers will suffer Such policies need to be changed which has long term effects on farmers Many farmers had been protesting and camping at Delhis borders since November 2020 with a demand that the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce Promotion and Facilitation Act 2020 Farmers Empowerment and Protection Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities Amendment Act 2020 be rolled back and a new law made to guarantee MSP for crops PTI ND NP NP