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Maharashtra

Devendra Fadnavis Takes Oath As 18th Chief Minister Of State; Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar Sworn In As Dy CMs

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BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the 18th Chief Minister of Maharashtra in Mumbai’s Azad Maidan on Thursday in the presence of PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other NDA leaders. 

Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and NCP’s Ajit Pawar were sworn in as Deputy Chief Ministers.

This oath-taking ceremony marked Fadnavis’s third stint as Maharashtra Chief Minister. The 54-year-old leader first served in the top post from October 2014 to November 19, becoming the youngest CM of the state. Fadnavis’s second stint, though, lasted only five days, from November 23 to 28, 2019 after the undivided Shiv Sena walked out of an alliance with the BJP. 

Shinde, who was the Chief Minister in the previous Mahayuti coalition government, was reportedly not happy as he had to cede the top post to the ally BJP, and was reluctant to take the deputy CM post.  However, after Shinde was requested by his MLAs to accept the post of DyCM, he confirmed his decision and took oath along with ally and NCP chief Pawar. 

The formation of the new government comes after two weeks of intense negotiations following the November 20 state assembly polls and results on November 23.

Grand ceremony

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President JP Nadda, and other National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders were present at Azad Maidan to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Devendra Fadnavis.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami were also present at the event.
Union Ministers including Nitin Gadkari, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Chirag Paswan, along with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, also graced the occasion.

Prominent celebrities such as cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Ranveer Singh, and Madhuri Dixit were among those in attendance.

On Wednesday, Fadnavis, with Shinde and Ajit Pawar, met Governor Radhakrishnan to formally stake claim to form a government, presenting letters of support from the coalition partners. 

Before that, Fadnavis was elected as leader of the BJP legislature party at a meeting on Wednesday morning.

Special arrangements were made to accommodate 40,000 BJP supporters and a separate seating arrangement was made for 2,000 VVIPs, including leaders from various religions for the grand ceremony.

More than 4,000 police personnel were deployed for security in and around the swearing-in venue. 

The Mahayuti alliance won a whopping 230 seats out of 288 Assembly seats in the November 20 elections. The BJP emerged as the single largest party winning 132 seats, while the Shiv Sena and NCP got 57 and 41 seats respectively. 

Maharashtra

Collective prayer at Sunni Bilal Mosque for the oppressed of Palestine and Gaza, Syed Moinuddin Ashraf appeals to the Islamic world for unity and awareness

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Mumbai: Today on Friday, after Jumme ki Namaaz, a very impressive, spiritual and faith-driven mass prayer was organized at Sunni Masjid Bilal (Do Tanki). This special prayer was read by Hazrat Allama Maulana Syed Moinuddin Ashraf Sahib, Sajjada Nashin Dargah-e-Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir Samnani (Kachchochha Sharif) for the oppressed Muslims of Palestine, Gaza and the first Qibla of Masjid Al-Aqsa. This prayer gathering was attended by Haj Muhammad Saeed Noori (Head of Raza Academy), Hazrat Syed Nafees Ashraf, Qari Mushtaq Ahmad, Maulana Arif and other prominent scholars, Imams and social figures.

A large number of people were also present in the gathering, who expressed deep sorrow and anger at the atrocities being committed on the Palestinian people and the violation of the sanctity of Masjid Al-Aqsa. Allama Moin Ashraf said in his words: “Palestine is not just a territory but the heartbeat of the Muslim Ummah and Al-Aqsa Mosque is the first Qibla of Muslims. The atrocities happening in these places are hurting the heart of every Muslim. We have to fulfill our duty through prayer, unity, awareness and peaceful protest.” On this occasion, Al-Hajj Saeed Nouri addressed the international community and said: “If the human rights advocacy organizations and the United Nations remain silent today, this silence can lead to a major crisis tomorrow.

Raising voice against oppression is the true standard of humanity.” At the end of the gathering, a collective prayer was organized in which prayers were offered for Palestine, Gaza, Al-Aqsa Mosque and the oppressed Muslims of the whole world. Special prayers were offered for peace, security, unity of the Muslim Ummah and support for the oppressed. While this prayer gathering brought spiritual peace, a new wave of global solidarity and awareness spread among Muslims. People resolved to keep the Palestinian cause alive and raise their voice at all levels.

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Maharashtra

Big decision of Shani Shingnapur Devasthan, 167 employees dismissed, including 114 Muslim employees

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Ahilyanagar: Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahilyanagar has taken a big decision. 167 employees working at Shani Devasthan have been dismissed from work. Among the dismissed employees were 114 Muslim employees. Shani Devasthan has given an explanation that the employees were dismissed due to irregularities and non-compliance with discipline. 

Meanwhile, for the past few days, Hindu organizations had been pressuring the Muslim employees to be fired. On the fourth day of Shani Dev, a protest was held on behalf of the entire Hindu community due to the work being done by Muslim people. 

A warning was given that a large march would be taken out by the entire Hindu community outside the temple on June 14.

The controversy had escalated over the appointment of Muslim employees at the famous religious place Shri Kshetra Shani Shingnapur Temple in Ahilyanagar district. Hindu organizations have become aggressive against the 114 Muslim employees working at the Shani Shingnapur Temple Trust. The organization demanded that the trust immediately remove all Muslim employees from work. Otherwise, it had also warned that a big march would be taken out by the entire Hindu community outside the temple on June 14. 

On May 21, 2025, Muslim craftsmen installed a grill on the holy platform of the temple and cleaned and painted the platform of Lord Shani. The matter had heated up even more then. As soon as the information about this incident came to light, the Maharashtra Temple Federation and Hindu organizations raised strong objections. After that, the temple’s board of trustees has decided to remove all Muslim employees. The temple trust had given a clarification in this regard, according to which it has admitted that 114 Muslim employees work in the trust. However, according to the trust, none of these Muslim employees are on duty in the main sanctum or on the platform of the temple. These employees are mainly working in the agriculture department, waste management department and education-related work. Out of these, 99 employees have been absent from work for the last five months and their salaries have also been stopped. The remaining 15 employees have been serving for many years, some of whom have more than 20 years of experience. Hindu organizations were aggressive in demanding the dismissal of 114 Muslim employees working at the Shani Shingnapur Temple Trust. They had also warned of taking out a protest tomorrow (June 14) in this regard. 

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Maharashtra

One arrested from Dombivali with firearms

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Mumbai: Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has claimed to have seized 4 country-made pistols and 35 live cartridges worth Rs 7.5 lakh from a suspect who was coming to sell weapons. The ATS had received information that a 35-year-old man was going to sell weapons on Mahatma Gandhi Road in Dombivali, adjoining Mumbai. The ATS team laid a trap and searched him and recovered 3 country-made pistols and 35 live cartridges from his possession. A case has been registered against the accused at ATS Kala Chowki under other sections including the Arms Act. The accused was also arrested with a firearm during technical investigation. So far, the police have recovered 4 firearms, 35 live cartridges and 2 migraines, which are said to be worth Rs 7.5 lakh. Further investigation is underway.

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