Mumbai: In a significant move aimed at strengthening food safety and public health standards, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Maharashtra, has issued a comprehensive compliance order applicable to hotels, restaurants, eateries, and all food service establishments across the state.

The order, issued by the Commissioner of the Maharashtra FDA, reiterates that every food business operator must strictly adhere to the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the regulations framed under it. It emphasizes that consumers have a fundamental right to receive safe, wholesome, and unadulterated food.

According to the order, inspections conducted by the department have revealed instances of non-compliance in several food establishments, prompting the need for stricter enforcement and uniform standards across the hospitality sector.

The directive highlights the responsibility of restaurants and hotels to maintain hygienic food preparation practices, comply with licensing and registration requirements, ensure proper storage and handling of ingredients, and follow prescribed standards relating to packaging, labelling, contaminants, and food additives.

The FDA has also stressed that public health protection is a constitutional obligation and that food service operators must play an active role in safeguarding consumers from unsafe or adulterated food.

Officials have indicated that compliance with the order will be closely monitored, and violations may invite regulatory action under the Food Safety and Standards Act and related rules.

The move is expected to enhance food safety standards across Maharashtra and reinforce accountability among food businesses while protecting the interests of millions of consumers who dine at hotels and restaurants every day.

Nagpur, June 25: Maharashtra Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday took a firm stand against the alleged intimidating statements made by the rebel Shiv Sena(UBT) MP Sanjay Patil, who joined the Shinde faction recently, over bomb threat and murder claims.

Reacting swiftly to Shiv Sena(UBT) MP Sanjay Raut’s letter to the Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti demanding Patil’s arrest under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) over bomb threat and murder claims, CM Fadnavis dismissed the panic while promising strict police vigilance.

“We will not allow anyone’s house to be blown up with a bomb, and no one needs to be scared of such hollow threats. If someone is issuing threats, the police are highly capable and will give them a fitting reply,” CM Fadnavis told reporters, signalling that the law-and-order machinery is fully alert.

He reiterated that the police will take appropriate and strict legal action while directly reprimanding the controversial rhetoric by Patil.

The CM’s response comes after Raut, in his letter, emphasised that citizens have a constitutional right to protest and demand answers from their elected representatives. He claimed that the six defected MPs are facing immense public backlash across the state, and that Patil’s alleged threats — which reportedly included claims of “sending protesters to the cemetery” and “throwing bombs” — warranted an immediate investigation.

Raut levelled severe allegations against Sanjay Dina Patil and claimed that voters in Mumbai North East have been protesting on the streets against Patil for “betraying their mandate” by switching factions.

According to Raut, instead of answering citizens, Patil resorted to terrifying death threats. Raut alleged that Patil openly threatened protesters by saying, “Do not mess with me. Before protesting against me, make sure you get life insurance because I will send you straight to the cemetery or the hospital. I have already killed five people in the past. If anyone protests against me, I will throw a bomb at them or storm into their houses to kill them.”

Highlighting these alleged statements, Raut demanded that the Mumbai Police immediately register a murder case against Patil based on his “own confession of killing five people”.

Furthermore, the Rajya Sabha MP requested a comprehensive anti-terror raid at Patil’s residence. “The threat of using bombs from a sitting Member of Parliament is deeply alarming. If these bombs are being manufactured inside his house, a swift search must be conducted with the help of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). This is a grave matter of national security, and he must be arrested under the UAPA,” Raut wrote in his letter.

Incidentally, the bitter face-off has turned the Mumbai North East region into a political powder keg, as workers from both the Thackeray and Shinde factions continue to clash on the ground, amplifying the ongoing civil and political unrest.

Mumbai, June 25: The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) on Thursday claimed that the Mahayuti government’s move to present supplementary demands of Rs 97,706.40 crore, barely three months after the annual budget 2026-27, exposes the deterioration in Maharashtra’s financial discipline.

The party said that with public debt soaring to nearly Rs 11 lakh crore, an annual interest burden of Rs 60,000 crore and arbitrary spending from the state treasury, the economy of the Maharashtra government has completely collapsed.

The Thackeray camp, in a scathing editorial in the party’s mouthpiece, ‘Saamana’, taunted that the present situation mirrors an economics student who attaches supplement after supplement to their answer sheet during an exam, only to barely secure a passing grade when the results are announced. “Maharashtra’s ‘supplementary’ champion government is publicly making a mockery of the state’s devastated economy by setting records in supplementary demands,” it remarked.

The editorial argued that for any government, having to hold out a begging bowl for supplementary demands right after the budget is highly embarrassing. “The state government’s financial planning has completely derailed due to reckless extravagance on non-productive activities. Maharashtra once enjoyed an excellent reputation for its financial discipline, but over the last four years, this reputation has completely withered away. During these past four years, the Mahayuti government has gone on a relentless spree of bringing supplementary demands of nearly Rs 5 lakh crore. This is a world record for extra-budgetary spending,” said the editorial.

The Thackeray camp said that ideally, supplementary demands should be utilised just days before the next budget if allocated funds run short at the end of the fiscal year or if a new scheme is suddenly launched. “Today, however, allocations are intentionally concealed in the main budget, and thousands of crores are later demanded through supplementary routes to serve political motives. This time, the government has crossed all limits. With nine full months remaining until the next budget, the government’s revenue and expenditure estimates collapsed within the first three months,” it commented.

The editorial said ironically, when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was in power and presented significantly lower supplementary demands, leaders of the current regime — who were then in the opposition — criticised them fiercely, alleging a total breakdown of financial discipline. “Today, those very opposition leaders serve as the state’s Chief Minister and Finance Minister. Despite supplementary demands crossing Rs 5 lakh crore in four years under their watch, they no longer view it as financial indiscipline,” it added.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena sarcastically said the ‘Supplementary-Champion’ government is setting a record for supplementary demands and publicly humiliating the economy of a state that was once renowned for its financial discipline. The government is out in the open, single-handedly dismantling the economic legacy of a state once revered for its financial rectitude.