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Maharashtra

Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar Hits Back At Aaditya Thackeray’s EVM Allegations, Urges Opposition To Approach Court Or ECI If They Have Concerns

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Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar hit back at Shiv Sena UBT Aaditya Thackeray’s allegations questioning the legitimacy of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), stating that the opposition should approach the Election Commission or the courts if they have concerns.

“There is no point in making such allegations here. They (the opposition) should go to the Election Commission and if they do not get justice there, they should approach the court,” said the newly sworn-in MLA Ajit Pawar.

This comes after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray announced that the party’s winning MLAs will not take the oath of office on Saturday during the ongoing special session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

Shiv Sena-UBT Leader Aaditya Thackeray Raises Doubts About The Legitimacy of EVMs

Thackeray raised doubts about the legitimacy of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).”Today we have decided that our (Shiv Sena UBT) winning MLAs will not take the oath. If this was the mandate of the people, people would have been happy and celebrated it. However, there was no such celebration or enthusiasm from the public. We have doubts about EVM,” Aaditya Thackeray said.

Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray along with party workers also paid tribute to Shivaji Maharaj at the Vidhan Bhavan complex.

The three-day special session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly is underway.

Statement Of Shiv Sena Leader Uday Samant

Earlier, speaking to ANI, Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant said, “Today’s priority is the oath-taking ceremony of 288 MLAs and holding the election of the speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly. After that, our 3 leaders CM Fadnavis and two Dy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar will together decide on when to do the cabinet expansion and which departments we will be getting. Our leader is Eknath Shinde, we have given him the authority to take all the political decisions to him, and all our MLAs will agree with whatever decision he takes.”

Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde & Ajit Pawar Take Oath As Members Of The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar took oath as members of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Saturday.

Before taking oath, CM Fadnavis along with DCMs Shinde and Pawar earlier this morning paid tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, at the Vidhan Bhavan complex in Mumbai on day 1 of the Maharashtra Assembly special session.

As the oath ceremony of MLAs is underway at the Vidhan Bhavan, NCP MP Sunil Tatkare said, “The oath ceremony of all the MLAs is taking place. With the amount of love the public has given to the Mahayuti alliance, we will work for the development of Maharashtra.”

Maharashtra Deputy CM and NCP chief Ajit Pawar earlier said, “Today I paid tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj along with Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde and other leaders of Mahayuti. We want to work following the ideology of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and BR Ambedkar. The voters of Maharashtra have given us a lot of support and I express my gratitude to them.”

The election for the new Maharashtra Assembly Speaker is expected to be held on Monday, December 9.

Senior BJP MLA Kalidas Sulochana Kolambkar Sworn In As The Pro-Tem Speaker

Senior BJP MLA Kalidas Sulochana Kolambkar was sworn in as the pro-tem Speaker of the Assembly by Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan on Friday, a day ahead of the three-day special session of the Assembly.

Devendra Fadnavis Takes Oath As The CM Of Maharashtra For The Third Time

Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister for the third time in an event held in Mumbai on Thursday and was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with several leaders of the alliance as well as celebrities from across fields. Deputy Chief Ministers Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde also took oath during the occasion.

The Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024 witnessed a decisive victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance, securing a landslide win with 235 seats. The results marked a significant milestone for the BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party with 132 seats.

The Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party also made notable gains, with 57 and 41 seats, respectively.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a major setback with Congress winning just 16 seats. Its alliance partner, Shiv Sena (UBT), won 20 seats, while the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) secured only 10 seats.

Maharashtra

FDA conducts major raid on cosmetics store in Jogeshwari, seizes unlabeled toilet soap

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Mumbai, July 16: A team of Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Greater Mumbai Division conducted a major raid at M/s JK Soap Bazaar, 10/11, Qadir Ismail Estate, Near Momin Colony, Patel Estate Road, Jogeshwari (West), Mumbai – 400102. During the operation conducted on July 14, 2026, it was observed that unlabeled toilet soap was being stored and offered for sale in the establishment. The seized soap lacked statutory information like batch/lot number, date of manufacture, ‘first use’ date, manufacturing license number, and name and address of the manufacturer. Selling cosmetics without such mandatory labelling is a violation of the law. During this operation, toilet soap worth about Rs 10,93,692 was seized, and two samples were collected for analysis as part of the ongoing investigation. The accused in this case is Nabiullah and necessary legal action is being initiated against him. “The Food and Drug Administration gives top priority to the protection of the health of citizens. Making any cosmetic product available for sale in the market without labelling as per the law is a very serious matter. It becomes difficult to verify the source, quality and safety of such products. Therefore, strict legal action will be taken against the violating manufacturers, distributors and sellers.” This warning was given by Takaram Mandhe, Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration, Maharashtra State.

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Maharashtra

AIMIM Govindi corporator’s husband Atiq Khan banished from city for a year, makes emotional appeal to public on social media and apologizes

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Mumbai: Maharashtra AIMIM leader and husband of a corporator from Govindpura, Atiq Khan, has been banned from the city for one year by the Mumbai Police. In an emotional message on social media, Atiq Khan said that he has been banned from Mumbai city and suburbs for one year, so he will be unable to do pending work or visit the area. If the public or students face educational difficulties due to his absence in the area for one year, he apologizes for it. The police had registered a case against Atiq Khan for violence and rioting, and accordingly, he has been banned, so a complete ban has been imposed on his entry into the area for one year. The ban on this ban will come into effect today. Therefore, Atiq Khan has made a very emotional video and apologized to the public on social media and has also expressed his passion for public service and said that he will continue to serve the public.

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Maharashtra

Major hurdle in completion of expansion project in Mumbai railway network, several projects are facing delays due to encroachment on railway lands, RTI reveals

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Mumbai: Encroachments on railway land are a major reason for delays in railway projects in Mumbai city. Due to delay in its acquisition, projects have been delayed and their estimates have also increased, this has been revealed in an RTI information filed by RTI activist Anil Gilgali. RTI has revealed that 1,574 encroachments have been identified for two major MRVC rail projects, occupying about 17,000 square meters of land. Information sought by RTI activist Anil Gilgali under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 has revealed that a total of 1,574 encroachments were identified during the acquisition of land for two major rail projects of the Mumbai Rail Development Corporation (MRDC). Out of these, 998 encroachments have been removed so far, while encroachments were found on about 17,068 square meters of land. According to information provided by MRVC to RTI activist Anil Gilgali on July 14, 2026, this information relates to the Kalyan-Badlapur 3rd and 4th rail line projects and the Airoli-Kola elevated corridor project.

Kalyan-Badlapur 3rd and 4th rail line project
According to MRVC, 706 encroachments were identified during the acquisition of land for the 3rd and 4th railway lines of the Central Railway between Kalyan and Badlapur. These include hutments and other structures located on railway land and newly acquired land. Out of these, 620 encroachments have been removed, while encroachments were found on about 9668 square meters of land. MRVC also said that each encroachment occurred in different years, hence it is not possible to identify a specific year. The encroachments identified for the project are located between Kalyan and Badlapur railway stations.
Airoli – Kalwa Elevated Corridor Project.

During land acquisition for the Airoli – Kalwa Elevated Corridor Project, 868 encroachments were identified. These included constructions on railway land and newly acquired land. So far, 378 encroachments have been removed while about 7400 sq m of land was found to be occupied. These encroachments are located between Digha village and Kalwa station. The MRVC also clarified that all the encroachments occurred in different years.

Information on re-encroachments not available
The RTI application also asked in how many areas encroachments were re-established after the encroachments were removed. The MRVC replied that the relevant information was not available.
Anil Gilgali raised important questions.

RTI activist Anil Gilgali said that encroachments have become a serious challenge in railway projects in Mumbai. Encroachments are a major reason for project delays, cost overruns and additional burden on public funds, he said. Mere removal of encroachments is not enough. Railways and MRVC should ensure that no encroachments are created again in the removed areas. Regular monitoring, safeguards and accountability are essential to achieve this.

Gilgali also demanded that information on land acquisition, encroachments, rehabilitation and progress in removal of encroachments for all rail projects be made available on a public portal from time to time, to enhance transparency and provide real-time information to citizens.

He said that availability of land is very important for Mumbai’s rapidly developing rail network. If encroachments are not effectively controlled, many public transport projects in the future may be affected. Therefore, the government, railways and local administration should come together to find a permanent solution.

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