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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

Navi Mumbai International Airport: 94% Work Completed, Target Set For Launch On September 30, Says Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis

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Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited and inspected the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) on Saturday, July 12. He was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Forest Minister Ganesh Naik during the site visit. The inspection aimed to assess the overall progress of the airport’s construction.

Addressing the media following the inspection, Fadnavis stated, “Today, we came here to review the progress of the airport. We saw a detailed presentation on the work’s advancement from the runway to the terminal building, and got all the information regarding it. Approximately 94 per cent of the physical progress is complete,”

The chief minister mentioned that the runway is fully constructed, while interior work inside the terminal is still in progress. Work on the terminal’s exterior, including the façade and ceiling, is being expedited, with all other construction activities continuing at a steady pace.

He also observed the advanced baggage-handling system at the airport. “We saw the baggage-handling system, which is the most efficient, in which the barcode of the baggage can be read through 360-degree scanning systems, ensuring it reaches the right place. We have asked the authorities that the baggage claim system in this airport should be the fastest not only in the country but in the entire world, and efforts are being made in that direction,” Fadnavis said, as reported.

The airport, once operational with two runways, will have the capacity to handle nine crore passengers annually. Highlighting the scale of the project, Fadnavis mentioned that NMIA will be many times bigger than the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai.

CM also mentioned that, “This will be the most modern airport in the country. As we have to seek the appointment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi (for the project launch), we have set the target of September 30 before them. It is an ambitious target.”

He added, “Currently, 13,000 to 14,000 workers are involved in the work daily, and we have asked the authorities to increase their strength by one-and-a-half times or double by September 30, because other licences are complete, but for commercial operations, all work has to be finished.”

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Maharashtra

Demand for apology from Sanjay Raut, otherwise defamation case will be filed, Sanjay Shirsat called the viral video a morphed video

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Mumbai: Mumbai Shiv Sena UBT leader and MP had shared a video of Shiv Sena Shinde Sena minister Sanjay Shirsat on social media. Now Sanjay Shirsat has announced to file a defamation case against Sanjay Raut. Along with this, a criminal case will also be registered. Sanjay Shirsat has claimed that the video that has been released has been tampered with and it is an attempt to defame him. Therefore, now he will not sit silent in this matter. He will teach Sanjay Raut a lesson. Therefore, along with sending a notice to Minister Sanjay Raut, an apology has also been demanded. If an apology is not made, a criminal and defamation case will be registered. Sanjay Shirsat had clarified in this regard that the video that has been released is of his residence and he is resting sitting on his bed, but there is no bag full of money. Bag who is He told the journalists that his residence is open to everyone and no permission or leave is required to meet me, according to the principle of Matoshree, I am a common worker and servant of the people, so anyone can come to my house. He said that someone must have made the video viral, he is unaware of how the video went viral. Sanjay Shirsat has now decided to file a defamation case against Sanjay Raut. After Sanjay Shirsat’s video went viral, there was a political uproar and after that Sanjay Shirsat also gave clarification on it. Now the minister has claimed to file a case.

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Crime

Maloni resident youth arrested for selling pistol in Mumbai

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Police in Maloni area of Mumbai have claimed to have arrested a person with an illegal revolver. The said person was roaming around with an unlicensed weapon and had a pistol pointed at his back. On receiving information, the police found a man aged between 32 and 37 years near Desai Maidan, who had a pistol pointed at his back. Police have recovered a black pistol made in India and four live cartridges from him. He had brought the pistol here from the village with the intention of selling it. The price of the pistol is said to be Rs 75,000 and the price of four cartridges is Rs 4,000. Police have arrested the accused, identified as 35-year-old Arif Ismail Shah. He is a resident of Ratnagiri. Police have registered a case against him under the Arms Act and are investigating further. During investigation, it was found that he had brought this pistol from Goa and had come here to sell it. This information was given by ACP Neeta Padvi of Mumbai Police.

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