Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 13 (ANI): Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar on Thursday told former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray that he would have retained the chief minister's post in the state had he sought help from veteran politician Chhagan Bhujbal during the crisis that emerged out of a rebellion within the Sena.

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 23 (ANI): Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ministers on Thursday will hold a protest against the Enforcement Directorate and Central government at Mahatma Gandhi Smark following the arrest of NCP leader Nawab Malik, said Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal.

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 Sep 24 PTI There was no substantial material to suggest that Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal and his kin got any kind of illegal gratification in the contract for the a new Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi a special court has said in its rulingThe special court for Anti-Corruption Bureau cases here discharged the senior NCP leader and seven others in a case related to alleged corruption in the construction of Maharashtra Sadan earlier this month Besides Chhagan Bhujbal 73 the court discharged his son Pankaj nephew Sameer and five others The detailed order became available on FridayThe ACB which probed the case had alleged that Bhujbal and his family members received kickbacks from the construction firm K S Chamankar Enterprises which got the contract to build the new guest house of the state government in the national capitalChamankar Enterprises transferred money to Niche Infrastructure and other companies in which Pankaj and Sameer Bhujbal were directors the ACB had allegedSpecial Judge H S Sathbhai held that evidence indicated that no illegality was committed in awarding the contract to Chamankar Enterprises and no illegal gratification kickbackquid pro quo was given by the developer to Chhagan BhujbalThe contract had been given by the state government in 2005-2006 when the NCP leader was PWD minister The material on record is not satisfactory and substantial to even suggest that Chhagan Bhujbal got any illegal gratification in any kind directly or indirectly the court added The ACB had alleged that the contractor earned 80 per cent profit in the construction against the government norm which allowed only 20 per cent marginThe Bhujbals got Rs 135 crore in kickbacks from the firm which earned a profit of about Rs 190 crore the state agency had allegedBut the court said there was no evidence to show that an amount of Rs 135 crore was transferred by Chamankar Enterprises to any other firm for passing it on to the Bhujbals PTI AVI KRK KRK KRK