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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

Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s ‘Marg Pranali’ launched… will strengthen connectivity with Mumbaikars: Mayor Ritu Tawde

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Mumbai: To enhance citizen participation in providing civic services and amenities to Mumbaikars and to resolve their grievances in a speedy and effective manner, the Information Technology Department of Mumbai Municipal Corporation has implemented ‘Marg Pranali’ (Grievance Management System). The system was launched by Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters today (April 22, 2026). Ganesh Khankar, Leader of Opposition Kishori Pednekar, Mumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) Committee Chairman Trishna Vishwas Rao, Improvement Committee Chairman Scindia Doshi (Sakre), Market and Garden Committee Chairman Hetal Gala, Legal Committee Chairman Daksha Karkar, Women and Child Welfare Committee Chairman Manal Tarde, Construction Committee Chairman Sangeeta Sharma, Samajwadi Party Group Leader Amin Abrahani and other office bearers were present on the occasion. Apart from this, Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Western Suburbs) Dr. Vipin Sharma, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Eastern Suburbs) Dr. Avinash Dhakne, Joint Commissioner (Vigilance) M. Devendra Singh, Deputy Commissioner (Municipal Commissioner’s Office) Prashant Gaikwad, Deputy Commissioner (Public Health) Sharad Urdu and Director Technology Sharad Urdu and other concerned officers were present from the administration.

To redress the grievances of the citizens of Mumbai, the Municipal Corporation uses the website www.mcgm.gov.in, Civil Helpline No. 1916, ‘My BMC’ mobile app, WhatsApp chatbot, ‘Pothole Quick Fix’ system, direct mail and complaints through social media (ex., Facebook, Instagram). To further empower all these services and make all types of complaints available on a single platform and resolve them promptly and effectively, a comprehensive digital initiative called ‘Management and Grievance Redressal’ has been implemented by the Information Technology Department of the Municipal Corporation. In the next phase, services of RETMS portal, Government’s PMO PG, App Sarkar portal will also be included in this service.

This initiative will make it easier to manage complaints received through various media through a single system. Citizens will receive automatic notifications on all stages of complaint registration, categorization by the concerned department, progress information and resolution of the complaint. This will increase transparency in the complaint redressal process. It will be easier for citizens to get timely information about their complaints. In addition, through a dashboard showing live information in the system, it will be easier for senior officers to monitor department-wise pending complaints and ensure their redressal within the stipulated time frame. Prioritization will also be more effective by keeping in mind the nature and seriousness of the complaints.

With the help of Geographic Information System (GIS), it will be easier to accurately identify and monitor the location of complaints. In addition, after the redressal of complaints, it will help in continuously improving the quality of service by taking feedback from the citizens.

By integrating complaints received from different sources into one system, the speed of response will increase. Communication between departments will be strengthened. It will also be possible to maintain effective control over the complaint redressal process. Along with this, this step will help in strengthening communication with the citizens. Also, the redressal of the complaints of the citizens will be more effective and faster.

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Maharashtra

Action against Lenskart store BJP leader Nazia Elahi confirmed

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Mumbai: After BJP leader Nazia Elahi’s ruckus at the Lenskart store in Andheri, Mumbai Police Commissioner Devin Bharti has said that action will be taken against those who disturb the order and environment, regardless of whether they belong to any organization or political party. He said that the Lenskart store or those concerned have not filed any complaint with the police, but if anyone files a complaint in this regard, the police will take action. He said that no one is allowed to disturb the environment or spread communalism and extremism in Mumbai and if someone forcibly enters someone’s place, it falls under the category of a crime. A video of Nazia Elahi went viral in which she was seen saying that Hindu employees are not allowed to apply Kalava, Rudraksha and Tilak in the store, while there is no such restriction for other religions. Along with this, Nazia Elahi also got into an argument with Muslim employee Mohsin Khan and this video of argument went viral. When Mumbai Police Commissioner Devin Bharti was asked about this, he said that action will be taken against anyone who disrupts law and order or promotes communalism, regardless of whether they belong to any party or organization.

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Maharashtra

Case registered for BJP rally blocking road in Worli

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Mumbai: The BJP had held a rally by blocking the road in the limits of Mumbai’s Worli police station against the rejection of the Women’s Bill in Parliament, on which the police have claimed to have registered a case. This case has been registered against the organizer, while the rally was allowed, but the police have registered a case for jamming the road for 20 minutes and causing traffic disruption. It should be noted that a BJP rally was held in Mumbai, to which a woman passenger objected and said that instead of blocking the road, a rally should be held in the field. This video went viral on social media, after which the police have registered a case against the organizer and are investigating the matter further. Mumbai Police Commissioner Devin Bharti has confirmed this. The police have registered this case for violating the permit. The police said that the conditions on which the permission was given were violated, so a case has been registered under Section 138. The police have registered a case of occupying the road and holding traffic hostage. Further investigation is also underway in this matter. The police said that the rally had caused disruption to the traffic system and this action was taken after that.

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