Kolhapur Apr 21 PTI A court in Maharashtras Kolhapur has remanded lawyer Gunaratna Sadavarte to police custody till April 25 in connection with a case of promoting enmity between two groups The Kolhapur police on Wednesday got the custody of Sadavarte in a case registered against him at Shahupuri police station in May 2021 based on a complaint lodged by one Dilip Patil Sadavarte was produced before a court which remanded him to the police custody till April 25 advocate Shivajirao Rane who represents the complainant said As per the police complaint after the Supreme Court struck down the Maratha reservation on May 5 2021 during a television interview Sadavarte allegedly made some objectionable remarks and promoted enmity between the Maratha and Backward Class communities Earlier the Satara police had arrested Sadavarte in connection with the alleged use of objectionable language during the agitations for the Maratha reservation in 2020 An FIR was also registered against the lawyer in Solapur district for allegedly promoting enmity between different groups and for contempt of court The police had first arrested Sadavarte on April 8 on charges of rioting and conspiracy in connection with the attack at NCP chief Sharad Pawars residence Silver Oak in Mumbai during a protest by striking MSRTC employees As many as five FIRs have been registered against the lawyer in Maharashtra in the last couple of weeks PTI COR SPK ARU ARU

Mumbai Apr 20 PTI Lawyer Gunaratna Sadavarte who was arrested in connection with a protest staged by MSRTC workers at NCP chief Sharad Pawars residence moved a bail plea before a sessions court here on Wednesday Sadavartes earlier attempt to seek bail was rejected by additional chief metropolitan magistrate Girgaon court Jaywant Chandrakant Yadav The lawyer who claims to represent the striking employees of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation MSRTC was arrested soon after the protest that took place at Pawars residence Silver Oak on April 8 In his fresh plea moved through advocate Girish Kulkarni Sadavarte claimed that the case against him was politically motivated The lawyer in his plea has claimed that he was not present on the spot and hence the sections he has been booked under do not apply to him Sadavartes bail application will be heard on Thursday The police have so far arrested over 118 persons in connection with the agitation staged by striking MSRTC workers at Silver Oak PTI AVI ARU ARU

Mumbai Feb 23 PTI Some NCP ministers in Maharashtra met at the residence of party president Sharad Pawar here on Wednesday evening to discuss the situation arising out of the arrest of their cabinet and party colleague Nawab Malik by the ED in connection with a money laundering caseMaharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar ministers Chhagan Bhujbal Hasan Mushrif and Rajesh Tope were present at Sharad Pawars residence Silver Oak in South Mumbai for the meeting party sources saidThe meeting was called to discuss the current situation that has arisen post Maliks arrest and the partys future course of action the sources saidThey said Maliks portfolios could be shared with his party colleagues in the cabinet in case he resignsMalik a senior NCP leader holds the skill development portfolio besides the minority affairs department in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA governmentThe NCP president is likely to meet chief minister Uddhav Thackeray at the latters official residence Varsha in south Mumbai later in the evening in the wake of the sudden developmentMeanwhile senior Congress leaders and MVA Ministers Balasaheb Thorat and Ashok Chavan called on Sharad Pawar and discussed the fallout of Maliks arrestAnother Congress minister Sunil Kedar also joined the meetingThe NCP and the Congress are constituents of the Shiv Sena-led MVA governmentCriticism continued to pour in from NCP leaders over Maliks arrestMaharashtra NCP president and minister Jayant Patil said the state never saw such political vendetta in the past and claimed efforts were being made to pull down the MVA governmentSpeaking during the partys on-going mass outreach programme in Solapur in western Maharashtra Patil said Malik has been arrested without any reasonPeople are seeing such politics right now but they will express their opinion at the right time Patil saidWithout naming anyone the NCP leader alleged some people want to topple the MVA government anyhowArrests are being made for no reason with the help of central agencies This is not right Patil addedThe state water resources minister alleged he too was pressurised to join the BJP in 2019 but he resisted pressures and didnt leave the NCP PTI ENM MR RSY RSY

Mumbai Feb 20 PTI Amid buzz about forging a third front Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday met his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray who heads Shiv Sena and NCP president Sharad Pawar separately as part of efforts to bring together like-minded parties against the BJP at the national level While Rao and Thackeray agreed the need to bring a change Pawar stressed the need for all like-minded parties to join hands to resolve various issues like unemployment and the agrarian crisis and said they will meet again Though neither Rao who heads the Telangana Rashtra Samithi TRS nor Uddhav or Pawar spoke about a third front in clear terms the Congress welcomed Raos efforts to forge an anti-BJP front but also cautioned that such bloc cannot be formed excluding the Grand Old Party Rao who travelled to Mumbai on the invitation of Thackeray said that he and the Maharashtra CM have agreed that change is the need of the hour The meeting between Rao and Thackeray held at the latters official bungalow Varsha lasted for neasrly two hours Rao then travelled to Pawars residence in south Mumbai where he held a political discussion with the veteran leader on how to take the country forward after 75 years of independence On his part Pawar stressed the need for all like-minded parties to join hands to resolve various issues like hunger poverty unemployment and the agrarian crisis facing the country The NCP chief told reporters that Telangana had taken good steps for the welfare of farmers which were a model for the rest of the country We discussed the political situation development issues being faced by the country after 75 years of independence the TRS chief said after meeting Pawar Rao said Thackeray and he agreed that a change was needed in the country All should co-exist in harmony he said We will meet again after speaking to other regional and national parties on the road ahead The path taken from Maharashtra always leads to success This is a a good beginning and it is a fight for preserving the democracy he said The TRS chief said he has invited Thackeray to Hyderabad Telangana and Maharashtra share a 1000-km border We need to have friendly relations with each other for the development of both states and the country I and the Maharashtra chief minister have agreed on issues pertaining to development and the need for structural changes in the country the Telangana CM told reporters Thackeray in a veiled attack on the BJP said the present day politics of revenge was neither Hindutva nor Indian culture and that the situation needed to change What is the countrys future if such an atmosphere continues he said adding that his discussion with Rao revolved around these issues The politics of revenge is not good Instead of speaking on development issues during their tenure lies and misinformation are spread about the political opponents he said without taking any name Those present in the meeting included Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and other leaders Uddhav Thackerays younger son Tejas Thackeray was also seen in pictures released by the Chief Ministers Office Actor Prakash Raj was also among the prominent faces accompanying Rao Addressing reporters at his south Mumbai residence with Rao Pawar said Our focus is only on development development and development We will meet again Pawar had been supporting the movement for the creation of a separate Telangana state since 1969 I was here to have a political discussion with Sharad Pawar and how to take the country forward after 75 years of independence We also discussed the need to bring the changes that are required but have not been done so far said Rao He also said the experience of Pawar as the senior-most leader in the country is valuable and it counts Such meetings will continue All leaders would meet again he added The Congress said though Raos efforts to forge an anti-BJP front are welcome but cautioned that such an initiative by regional parties cannot be successful without the Grand Old Party which is the only alternative to the ruling BJP Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole claimed that the TRS had earlier taken a stand in Parliament which was beneficial to BJP but now its views about BJP have changed We welcome this change of heart he told reporters Speaking in Pune Union minister Ramdas Athawale asserted that even if Shiv Sena TRS and other parties come together to form a third front at the national level there is no threat to the NDA as people are happy under the Narendra Modi-led government PTI MR COR GK NP NSK NSK