Connect with us
Saturday,29-March-2025
Breaking News

Maharashtra

Maha tussle: MVA, BJP counting on the magic ‘power’ of numbers

Published

on

Following the fractured verdict in the October 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, both the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi and Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party have been grappling with the ‘numbers game’ to secure their respective positions for the past 30 months.

In the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, the mid-way mark is 144, while the current strength is 287 as one Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke of Mumbai, passed away recently.

Besides the MVA-BJP, there is a significant 29-strong group of MLAs who are independents or from smaller parties who have become important for both the ruling and opposition side.

The MVA strength is: Shiv Sena (55), NCP (53) and Congress (44), and with the support of smaller parties and independents, the ruling alliance commands around 169 legislators.

The BJP has 106, plus the support of smaller parties and independents giving a strength of around 114.

The rest five are unattached to either group ostensibly to keep their ‘political bargaining power’ evergreen, as was witnessed in this months’ biennial elections to both Rajya Sabha and Maharashtra Legislative Council.

In the ongoing crisis that has gripped the state, Shiv Sena’s senior Minister Eknath Shinde has pitched tent in Surat, Gujarat — ruled by the BJP — and the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Shinde has reportedly gone away with an estimated dozen to two dozen legislators, which has posed a question mark on the MVA’s very survival, though the Sena moved quickly to open up back-channel communication with a majority of the potential disgruntled rebels.

Given the BJP’s past track record of toppling governments in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and other states earlier, the sudden yet un-declared ‘Operation Lotus’ has pushed the MVA government on the brink.

Battling the Shinde conflagration on one side, the MVA allies have also tried to herd and secure their respective legislators besides their supporting smaller parties and independents.

The MVA allies have kept a brave face and maintained that there’s no immediate threat to the government, as indicated by Sena’s Sanjay Raut and Congress’ Prithviraj Chavan, Ashok Chavan and others.

Meanwhile, Shinde is likely to visit Ahmedabad later this evening to meet BJP President J.P. Nadda, Amit Shah, while Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis is also going there.

disaster

Mumbai’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Sudhakar Pathare, who was posted in the Port Zone, passed away in a road accident on Saturday.

Published

on

Pathare had visited Hyderabad for training. He was on his way to visit a temple with a relative when the accident occurred. Both Pathare and his relative lost their lives in the crash.

Mumbai Police have been informed about the incident.

More details are awaited.

Continue Reading

Maharashtra

Order to demolish the tomb of Hazrat Syed Bale Shah Baba in Mira Bhayander

Published

on

Mumbai: The state government has issued an order to demolish the four hundred year old dargah of Hazrat Syed Bale Shah Peer Rahmatullah Alaih located in Mira Bhayander. Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation has sent a letter to the collector declaring this dargah illegal and ordered action against it. As the dargah is located on forest land, communalists had started demanding the demolition of the dargah. In the House, Darranjan Daukhre had also demanded action against the dargah, after which now the state government has ordered to run a bulldozer on the dargah. An order has also been issued to remove and demolish the dargah by May.

Dargah trustee Amjad Sheikh said that this dargah is ancient and this order is illegal in itself. In this case, communal forces had launched a campaign against the dargah, after which this order was issued.

There is a dargah on the beach and citing the threat of terrorist and illegal activities and the presence of terrorists here, there was a demand to demolish the dargah. The dargah is close to the sea and in such a situation, the threat of a terrorist attack on Mumbai from the sea has been expressed, while the dargah administration has clearly denied this and said that communal organizations are running their agenda against the dargah and there is no such threat. Muslims have opposed this decision of the government and Muslims have also expressed their displeasure and anger over it.

The trustee says that this dargah is ancient and earlier the collector and the municipal corporation had given a notice, after which the illegal shed and other premises were demolished here and the dargah administration has taken this action at its own level. Now an order has been issued to demolish the dargah itself.

Continue Reading

Maharashtra

Haji Ali Dargah will be closed for pilgrims for a few hours on Eid due to rising sea level

Published

on

Mumbai: Due to rising sea level at Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai, the dargah will be closed for pilgrims for a few hours on Eid. On March 31, the dargah will be closed for pilgrims from 12 noon to 3 pm. During this time, entry of pilgrims to the dargah will be restricted. The dargah will be closed on Tuesday, April 1 from 12:45 pm to 3:45 pm and on Wednesday, April 2 from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm.

Therefore, we have appealed to the pilgrims not to gather at the dargah during these hours. This information has been released by Tahir, administrative officer of Haji Ali Dargah. Pilgrims visit Haji Ali Dargah on Eid-Basi and Tiwasi, but due to the rising water level of the sea, water gets accumulated on the way to the Dargah and entry to the Dargah is prohibited and the gate of the Dargah remains closed during these days, due to which there is a lot of crowd there. Therefore, pilgrims have been requested to come to the Dargah only at the scheduled time.

The police also remains vigilant at the Dargah during the rising sea level, as there is a crowd of pilgrims here during Eid and festivals. The Haji Ali Dargah administration has said that on the occasion of Eid, lakhs of pilgrims visit the Dargah of Haji Ali (RahmatullahAlaih). These pilgrims include pilgrims from the country and abroad, so the Dargah administration has also claimed special security arrangements on Eid. Spiritual scenes are also seen at Haji Ali Dargah during Eid prayers.

Continue Reading

Trending