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Maharashtra

Democracy in peril due to BJP’s ‘monstrous’ political ambitions: Thackeray

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Shiv Sena President and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday warned that democracy in India is at peril owing to the “monstrous ambitions” of the Bharatiya Janata Party to control everything.

“A conspiracy to eliminate all the opposition and regional parties in the country is going on in full swing… The ruling party (BJP) is scared of the opposition. It indicates their inefficiency,” said Thackeray, in the concluding part of a marathon “birthday interview” to Sanjay Raut, Executive Editor of the Sena mouthpieces “Saamana” and “Dopahar Ka Saamana” newspapers.

He pointed out that democracy does not mean winning (elections) everytime, be it any party – Shiv Sena, Congress, NCP, BJP, etc – nobody gets consecutive victories, all have to win or lose, new parties keep emerging, shine for some time – “that is a real democracy”.

However, the gargantuan aspirations (of the BJP) of keeping everything under their heels coupled with whatever they say is right, makes them apprehensive of the opposition, he said.

Recalling the late Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s refrain – “Power comes and goes, but the country should remain”, Thackeray said: “I was the CM yesterday, I am not today and am sitting in front of you… What’s the difference? Power comes and goes… and returns, but it doesn’t matter to me.”

He emphasised the need for all political parties to unite and work for the country, or they shall be labelled as “enemies” of our nation, as there are stupendous problems like inflation, unemployment, etc, that confront the people.

Thackeray took a swipe at the BJP-government on how various central investigation agencies are harassing the Opposition, arresting their leaders first and framing the charges later, “defaming them in a dirty and perverted manner intended to ruin their careers”.

Referring to BJP leader and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari’s statement that his party was like a “washing machine” which makes people facing allegations “virtuous”, Thackeray said this is not really the sign of a strong ruler, but one in fear.

To Raut’s query on how to overcome such oppression, Thackeray said that first all should have a desire to get out of it, as people did during the Emergency and united to form the Janata Party.

At that time, he said the Janata Party (1975-1977) did not even have election agents at polling booths, yet people of all classes voted for them overwhelmingly, and the party came to power.

“Later, due to infighting, the Janata Party government toppled itself. So, there must be a strong will to fight unitedly. Presently, the symptoms are not good and it seems the country is heading towards dictatorship, this is the opinion of many,” cautioned Thackeray.

He said the Shiv Sena is willing, but it cannot go alone and all the states of the country must join together for the struggle which will “awaken” the people, and without making too many enemies, must ensure healthy politics.

In this context, Thackeray mentioned the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress’s Maha Vikas Aghadi, and termed it as “a successful experiment, and supported by the masses”.

“The MVA was not wrong. The people have welcomed it. Many in the state cried when I left ‘Varsha’ (the CM’s official residence, on June 22). I will not allow those tears go in vain,” he said.

The Sena leader rued how the very same people (Eknath Shinde) who were opposed to joining hands with the BJP in 2014 have now allied with that party, and called him “a power-hungry” person.

Thackeray said he had offered Shinde the post of CM, after discussing with the NCP-Congress provided he could get some replies from the BJP, “but he had no guts”.

He again challenged the Shinde-Fadnavis government for elections and predicted that the “state will again get a Shiv Sena CM”.

Maharashtra

We will take initiative on the problems of Mumbai University – Ambadas Danve

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Mumbai: Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Ambadas Danve said that the government will take initiative regarding the vacant posts of teachers in Mumbai University, enrollment of colleges, and pending development works by MMRDA. Today he visited the Kalina campus and took stock of the problems and current situation of the students.

Delay in development works of the university

An agreement was signed between Mumbai University and MMRDA for the beautification of the Kalina campus and construction of buildings for educational purposes. But this work has not been done till now and concerns were raised about the completion of these works.

Issue of safety of students

Every day five to six thousand students visit the Kalina campus, but incidents of attacks on female students are increasing due to outside elements. Also, the Bit Chowki near the main entrance was demolished in the name of widening the road, which increased the threat to the safety of girl students, this issue was raised by Senate member Sheetal Devrukhkar-Sheth.

Issue of cancellation of teacher recruitment

Instead of improving the quality of education, the decision to cancel the teacher recruitment is proving to be harmful for the students, Senate member Milind Satam reported.

Challenge to the international recognition of the university

Despite getting international recognition, the students are facing problems due to the problems of Mumbai University, which is unfortunate, said Ambadas Danve. Students from all over the country and abroad come here to study, so it is important to solve these problems, he said.

Vice Chancellor Dr. Ravindra Kulkarni, Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr. Ajay Bhamare, local MLA Vilas Potnis, Senate members Sheetal Devrukhkar-Sheth, Milind Satam, Kisan Sawant, Param Yadav and other dignitaries were present in this meeting.

Danve resolved to raise voice with the government on the problems of the university and play an active role in the interest of the students.

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Maharashtra

‘Water Grid’ project for Marathwada: Gulabrao Patil

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Mumbai: The ‘Marathwada Water Grid’ scheme is being implemented to permanently solve the water shortage in Marathwada and ensure robust water supply. Under this project, 11 major dams of Marathwada will be connected through pipelines and drinking water will be provided to cities and villages across the region. Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil gave information about the project and said that this project will provide sustainable water supply to Marathwada.

The cooperation of global level banks will be taken to implement this scheme, Patil said. A review meeting was held with representatives of global banks in the ministry regarding this project. Many important officials including Principal Secretary of Water Supply and Sanitation Department Sanjay Khandare, Member Secretary of Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran Abhishek Krishna, Chief Executive Officer of ‘Mitra’ Praveensinh Pardeshi, Director of Jal Jeevan Mission Abhiyan E Ravindran, and Secretary of Water Resources Department Sanjay Belsare were present in this meeting.

Long-term water supply to Marathwada will be ensured through this project. Along with this, as per the advice of the central government, the project will be set up and implemented by taking loans from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and New Development Bank. The implementation of the project will be coordinated by the ‘Mitra’ institution, as told by Minister Gulabrao Patil.

The ‘Mitra’ institution has taken the initiative to discuss the project further and coordinate with the concerned banks. Patil expressed confidence that the project will significantly help in solving the water problem of Marathwada.

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Maharashtra

The state government is preparing to bring private kindergartens under its control

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Mumbai: The lack of educational facilities, midday meals for children, and proper implementation of government schemes in private schools running in the streets of the state has increased the concern of parents. As a measure against this, the School Education Department has started preparing a new manual to bring private schools under government control.

According to the new National Education Policy, pre-primary education for children between 3 and 6 years of age has been considered important, and it is proposed to include private schools in this policy as well. Currently, many schools running in the streets are running without any manual and are out of the control of the local administration. It has been assured that a suitable educational environment will be created for the children under this new rule of the Education Department.

Under the new regulations, educational curriculum for children will be implemented in the balwadis, along with midday meals and appropriate schemes for the physical and mental development of children. This is expected to provide quality education to the children.

It has not yet been decided which department will control these balwadis – the School Education Department, the Women and Child Welfare Department, and the Integrated Child Development Services Department. However, it is believed that this decision will reduce the anxiety of parents and improve the educational quality of children.

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