Maharashtra News Updates: Arrest warrant against Raut; CM says no to VVIP racism

Congress deputes the party's national spokesperson Mohan Prakash to Maharashtra, to make an inquiry & submit a report in the wake of the recent Maharashtra Political Crisis, with immediate effect.

"Maharashtra is Indian economy's engine. If we keep progressing as a nation, we can become a 7 trillion economy. We made a pledge in 2015 to grow to a trillion-dollar economy by 2030. I renew that pledge today, under Maha CM Eknath Shinde's leadership," said Maharashtra Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis. 

As per a statement from the Maharashtra Chief Minister's office (CMO), CM Shinde has directed that there should be no police deployment for his convoy, as it causes hardships and delays for the common man. "This is a government of the common man so he should get priority over VIPs," CM Shinde said, adding that the special protocol causes traffic snarls, disrupts the daily routine of citizens, and burdens the police force.

A bailable arrest warrant has been issued against Sanjay Raut by a court in a complaint filed against him by Medha Somaiya, the wife of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kirit Somaiya.

Advocate Vivekanand Gupta told Republic, "The accused Mr. Sanjay Raut failed to appear before the court in an earlier hearing."

Addressing the media, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray asserted that nobody can take away the bow and arrow symbol from his party. He added, "Corporators who are supporters of Eknath Shinde are joining him. Those who have become big with the help of Shiv Sena have left, but those who make Sena big are still with us". Hitting out at the Eknath Shinde-led rebels, the ex-Maharashtra CM said, "MLAs can leave but a few can't finish Shiv Sena. I want to appreciate the MLAs who are with us. They are courageous people, they received threats but didn't leave". 

Even as Mumbai residents got some respite from the downpour on Friday morning, the India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for the city and its suburbs warning that very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places during the day, the civic officials said. The Met department also said that there is a possibility of occasional strong winds reaching 40-50 kph, they said. After heavy rains in the city and its adjoining areas since Monday, the rain intensity started subsiding from Thursday afternoon.

In the 24-hour period ending 8 am on Friday, the island city (south Mumbai), its eastern suburbs and western suburbs recorded an average rainfall of 28.08 mm, 32.64 mm and 51.96 mm respectively, a civic official said. The buses of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) and local train services, considered the lifeline of Mumbai, were normally as there was no waterlogging anywhere. However, some suburban trains are slightly behind schedule, he said.

Shiv Sena president and former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray will address the media at Matoshree at 2 pm today. 

The Supreme Court posted for hearing on July 11th, the plea of the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction challenging the Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s decision dated June 30 to invite Eknath Shinde to form government in Maharashtra, the Speaker's election and vote of confidence. 

On July 7, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis attended a meeting with CM Eknath Shinde to review Maharashtra Agri Business and Rural Transformation (SMART) project with World Bank and government officials. This project includes doubling of farmers' income with the participation of 19 lakh farmers in 10,000 villages. They also reviewed Climate Resilient and flood mitigation project (Climate Smart and Resilient Maharashtra, CSRM) which was in-principally agreed by World Bank. Various ways were discussed to fast-track this project, which is extremely beneficial to farmers and in turn to the economy.

The Maharashtra CM took the following decisions:

• SMART: Fast-track the project with adequate manpower

• CSRM: Submit revised DPR to World Bank

• Vainganga-Nalganga: Submit for administrative approval

• Godavari basin: Bring to the tender stage as soon as possible

In a key development, the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena has moved the Supreme Court once again. It has challenged Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's decision to invite Eknath Shinde to form the government. It has also sought the quashing of the Speaker's election and the vote of confidence held on July 3 and 4 respectively. The Eknath Shinde camp not only managed to get BJP's Rahul Narwekar elected as the Speaker but also won the floor test with a 164-99 margin. 

32 Shiv Sena corporators of Navi Mumbai met CM Eknath Shinde in Thane on July 7 and extended their support to him. They say, "We'll be with him. He never declined anybody's phone call. Even if an ordinary party worker calls him up, he receives the call. It feels good".

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will keep the beaches open for the general public from 6 am to 10 am only, owing to the number of drowning accidents that have occurred this year. The civic body said that during the Orange and Red alert in the city, the beaches in Mumbai will be open to the general public only from 6 am to 10 am.

A statement issued by BMC read, "In view of the drowning incidents this year on various beaches in Mumbai, it is hereby directed that during the period of Orange and Red alert by IMD, the beaches in Mumbai shall be open for entry for general public between 6 am to 10 am only." The statement further read that on receipt of these orders, the police department, Fire brigade department's lifeguards and the staff concerned with the beach maintenance shall be informed to implement these orders in the respective locations.  

The India Meteorological Department has issued a Red alert for Mumbai, Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg today. This implies that heavy rainfall in a few places and extremely heavy rainfall in isolated places is very likely.

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde will leave from Mumbai at 5.30 pm to visit the national capital. He is likely to meet PM Modi and key national leaders during his visit.

The ten newly-elected members of the Maharashtra Legislative Council will take oath today, an official said on Thursday. The new members of the Upper House were elected from the Legislative Assembly quota for which MLAs constituted the electoral college. The biennial election was held on June 20. The new MLCs - Pravin Darekar, Ram Shinde, Prasad Lad, Uma Khapre, Shrikant Bharatiya  (all BJP), Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar, Eknath Khadse (NCP), Sachin Ahir, Amasha Padvi (Shiv Sena) and Bhai Jagtap (Congress) - will take oath at around 12 noon, the official added.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis are set to visit Delhi on Friday to meet the BJP leadership. They will meet PM Narendra Modi. Apart from PM, Shinde and Fadnavis will meet Amit Shah, JP Nadda, and Rajnath Singh as well. 

Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole paid a visit to party's National President Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Thursday. In the meeting, Patole apprised Gandhi about the political situation in the state with the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, of which Congress was also a part, and the coming to power of the rebel Shiv Sena Bharatiya Janta Party. In light of the recent development, the state president held a discussion with his national counterpart about its role in the Opposition as well as the future course of action. 

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Eknath Shinde reaches Mantralaya, officially takes charge as Chief Minister of Maharashtra. 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said it is a matter of pride that Droupadi Murmu, a tribal community member, has been nominated for the post of the country's President. 

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given an opportunity to Murmu to become the country's President. It is a matter of pride and honour. I am also proud that a tribal community member has been nominated for the post," he said.

The presidential election will be held on July 18.

The decomposed body of a man was found in a swollen drain in Maharashtra's Palghar district which has been witnessing heavy rains for the last few days, a fire official said on Thursday.

A police official said they suspect that the deceased, identified as Rahul Vishwakarma, might have slipped into the drain amid the heavy showers and got washed away.

There was water-logging in many areas following heavy downpour in Vasai and Virar towns here since Wednesday.

In a major setback to Uddhav Thackeray, the party's 66 corporators from Thane joined the Eknath Shinde camp on Wednesday.

"Anand Rao has given his resignation, I have learned that ED was going on against him, there was a raid at his residence... due to this pressure may be...Such pressure is on many leaders," said Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut amid speculations that Anand Rao Adsul may join the rebel camp led by Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde.

The IMD has issued a 'Red' alert for Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg till July 9, while Palghar, Pune, Kolhapur, and Satara will remain on red alert till July 8. Mumbai and Thane areas are on orange alert till July 10.

In another blow for ex-Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, former Lok Sabha MP Anandrao Adsul resigned from the organizational post of Shiv Sena leader. As per sources, he is likely to join the Eknath Shinde-led camp soon. The number of designated Shiv Sena leaders has been reduced to 10 with Adsul's resignation.

As heavy to very heavy rain is being reported in Konkan and Western Maharashtra, the 5th Battalion of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has sent 17 of its 18 teams to these areas to tackle any emergency. The move comes after the government requested the NDRF to send its teams to these regions. 

The Met department has issued a red alert indicating heavy to extremely heavy rains for Pune, Satara, and Kolhapur districts in western Maharashtra over the next three days.

The Met department has issued a red alert indicating heavy to extremely heavy rains for Pune, Satara and Kolhapur districts in western Maharashtra over the next three days even as the Panchganga river level in Kolhapur rose and is seven feet short of the warning mark as of Wednesday night, officials said.

Officials fear that if the rain continues overnight, the water level of the Panchganga and other rives will reach the warning mark (39 feet) by Thursday morning.

Two teams of NDRF have already been stationed in flood-prone Shirol tehsil and Kolhapur city.

Satara and Kolhapur districts are experiencing heavy rainfall, prompting the district administration in Kolhapur to take preemptive measures to tackle any flood situation in the district, which was battered by floods in 2019 and 2021.

Due to heavy rains, the water level of the Panchganga river at the Rajaram weir in Kolhapur reached 32 feet at 8 pm on Wednesday, seven feet below the waning mark and 11 feet below the danger threshold.

The red alert is valid from July 6 to 8 for the Satara district and from July 7 to 9 for the Kolhapur district.
 

Rebel Shiv Sena MLA Gulabrao Patil on Wednesday said the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was the real claimant of the party's 'bow and arrow' poll symbol, a claim contested by the Uddhav Thackeray-headed camp of the saffron outfit.

Patil, a minister in the previous Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, also said 12 MPs and 22 former MLAs of the party are supporting Shinde.

"We are the real claimant of the party's bow and arrow symbol," he said.

Lok Sabha MP from Sindhudurg Vinayak Raut, a member of the Thackeray-headed camp, challenged the rebels to declare that they have quit the Shiv Sena and dared the BJP to call mid-term elections in the state.
 

Three persons were injured in a landslide in Mumbai which continued to get pounded by heavy showers for the third straight day on Wednesday, resulting in water logging at many places and traffic disruptions, while the Maharashtra government asked officials to remain vigilant and take steps to avoid loss of lives in the metropolis and other rain-affected areas of the state.

No relief was expected anytime soon as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a heavy rainfall alert for several parts of Maharashtra, including the financial capital, for the next two days.

Amid the downpour, three persons, including a 15-year-old boy, were injured in a landslide that hit a 'chawl' (old row tenements) in the Chunabhatti area, a civic official said.

A portion of a hill crashed on the two-storey Narayan Hadke chawl around 10.30 am, the official said, adding three rooms were also damaged in the landslide.

Mumbaikars continued to face hardship due to flooding on roads which slowed down vehicular traffic and affected normal life. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who took charge just a week ago, chaired a meeting of  officials, where he asked them to remain alert and take necessary steps to ensure that there is no loss of life during the monsoon.

(PTI)

Mumbai on Wednesday reported 695 new coronavirus infections, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said.

For the first time since June 13, no COVID-19-related death was reported in India's financial capital, he added. 

A day before, the city had recorded 659 cases and one death.

On the sixth day in a row,  daily COVID-19 cases remained below the 1,000-mark.

Congress in Maharashtra on Wednesday slammed the latest hike in the price of domestic LPG cylinder, saying the new slogan of the Narendra Modi government was "Won't let you eat and won't let you cook either." 

The BJP-led government has landed another blow to the common man by raising the price of LPG cylinder by Rs 50, said state Congress chief Nana Patole. 

How many people can afford to buy a gas cylinder at Rs 1,053, he asked. 

"The new slogan of the Modi government is `Na Khaane Dunga aur Na Pakane Dunga (Won't let you eat and won't let you cook either),'" Patole said. 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday announced a toll waiver for devotees visiting Pandharpur on Ashadi Ekadashi on July 10. 

As per a statement issued by the chief minister's office, Shinde has directed the chief secretary to arrange for stickers on vehicles of warkaris (devotees) and their registration with the local police.

Lakhs of warkaris chanting hymns of saint Dnyaneshwar and saint Tukaram will reach the temple town of Pandharpur in Solapur district on Ashadi Ekadashi, which falls on July 10.

"For two to three days, heavy rainfall is being witnessed in the state. Red alerts are issued in many districts. Immediate action will be initiated in a situation whenever needed. I have directed authorities to take precautionary measures to prevent property loss or life loss," said Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Shiv Sena nominates Rajan Vichare as the party's chief whip in Lok Sabha replacing Bhavana Gawali, informs MP Sanjay Raut.

"The work done by Shiv Sena last year is visible. The water accumulated in some areas but it drained quickly,"  says former Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar.

"In Maharashtra, we have recently seen very heavy rainfall. The Maharashtra govt had requested 17 teams. And all 17 teams have been made available and deployed in Mumbai, Thane, etc," said Atul Karwal, DG, NDRF.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a heavy rainfall alert for Maharashtra on Wednesday and the next two days, as state capital Mumbai continued to witness heavy downpour for the third consecutive day, resulting in a landslide near a chawl, water-logging at many places and traffic disruptions.

Rebel Shiv Sena MLA Sada Sarvankar on Wednesday met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray at the latter's residence. 

I paid a courtesy visit to him as he has undergone a surgery. Also, we live close by, Sarvankar, who belongs to the Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde, told PTI.

The Sena MLA represents Mahim in central Mumbai, the area where Raj Thackeray lives. 
 

Due to heavy rainfall, several tracks had been inundated causing a delay in arrival. However, crowds thronged railway stations as the movement continued. Central Railway CPRO has sought the help of Railway police in crowd management. 

"Our teams work throughout the year for monsoon preparedness. We added additional pumps with higher capacities, and micro tunneling helped. We're taking the help of the Railway Police, and have plans for crowd management. Our social media kept informing us about late trains which helped the public and us by controlling the crowd," said Shivaji M Sutar, Central Railway CPRO on rain effect on railways.

Waterlogging has been reported at 25 locations across Mumbai today due to heavy rainfall. BEST buses were diverted due to the waterlogging.

A rider died after his bike overturned due to a pothole and an ST bus coming from the rear drove over him on Thane's Ghodbunder Road. The incident occurred in the Kajupada area at around 11 am yesterday. Kashimira PS registered an Accidental Death Report and has started a further investigation, the Thane Municipal Corporation said.

Amid heavy rainfall in Mumbai, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for July 6 and predicted "moderate to heavy rain" in the city and its suburbs over the next 24 hours, with a possibility of "very heavy" showers at isolated places.

For the last few days, several parts of Maharashtra including Mumbai, Thane, Palghar  Raigarh, Ratnagiri, Pune Sindhudurg, Beed, Jalna, Latur, Parbhani, and many others have been experiencing heavy downpours.

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been also deployed in heavy rainfall areas for carrying out relief operations if required.

Noting that there must be a "big reason" for 50 MLAs to leave a ruling alliance,  Maharashtra CM knath Shinde on Wednesday said that the previous MVA government could not make a decision when matters concerning Hindutva or Veer Savarkar or that Mumbai blasts and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim came up.   

"Shiv Sena, BJP contested 2019 assembly elections together but the government was formed with Congress, NCP. Due to this, whenever issues of Hindutva came up, matters relating to Savarkar came up, Mumbai blast issue came up, on Dawood issue came up and other issues when (these) came, we were unable to take a decision," he said. 

Apparently referring to his humble past when he used to drive an autorickshaw to earn living, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday took a dig at Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, saying an autorickshaw has outpaced Mercedes car.

"Autorickshaw outpaced Mercedes (car)... because this is a government of the common man," Shinde tweeted in Marathi.

BJP leaders on Monday night were seen leaving the residence of the party leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis after attending the party core committee meeting.

Speaking to reporters, Maharashtra BJP leader Girish Mahajan said, “The party core committee meeting was regarding the presidential polls as NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu is scheduled to come in the state on July 14. No talks happened on cabinet expansion.”

As many as 33 BEST buses suffered a breakdown in the waterlogged roads and heavy rain. “However, all the buses were attended to and were back in service,” BEST spokesperson said, informing that the buses have suffered the malfunction. BEST Bus (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport) run most of the city buses in Mumbai. BEST operates one of India’s largest fleets of buses.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde reviewed the rain situation on Tuesday and said over 3,500 persons had been shifted to safer places from flood prone and vulnerable spots across the state.

Apparently referring to his humble past when he used to drive an autorickshaw to earn living, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday took a dig at Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, saying an autorickshaw has outpaced Mercedes car.

"Autorickshaw outpaced Mercedes (car)... because this is a government of the common man," Shinde tweeted in Marathi.

Shinde, whose rebellion against the Sena leadership with at least 40 MLAs led to the collapse of the Thackeray-led MVA government last week, was taunted as an “auto rickshaw driver” by some Sena leaders when he was leading the revolt. 

Due to heavy rainfall in Mumbai, Powai Lake started overflowing at 6.15 pm today.

NDRF teams have been deployed as follows -

• 5 teams in Mumbai
• 1 team Nagpur
• 1 team at Chiplun and Ratnagiri
• 1 team at Mahad Raigad
• 2 Team at Kolhapur
• 1 team at kalyan dombiwali thane 
• 1 team at thane muncipal area 

Total number of teams deployed in Maharashtra - 12 NDRF teams

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Imtiaz Jaleel on Tuesday appealed to the people of Aurangabad to move court and take to the streets to protest the renaming of the district to Sambhajinagar.

Jaleel called a meeting of social organisations, historians and local politicians to decide the future course of action to protest against the renaming of the district.

A resolution was passed to protest against the decision of renaming Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar. 
 

Devendra Fadnavis admitted that he was not mentally prepared to assume the post of deputy CM, but changed his decision after a discussion was held with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and intervention by BJP president JP Nadda and Union home minister Amit Shah.

Fadnavis said BJP leadership believed that he should be part of the government as it was not right to run the government through an "extra-constitutional authority".
 

A special court in Mumbai on Tuesday allowed the anticipatory bail application of Independent Lok Sabha MP Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana in a case pertaining to obstructing the police from arresting them in the aftermath of the Hanuman Chalisa row.

Their anticipatory bail plea, in connection with the second FIR that Khar police had registered under IPC section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servants from discharge of his duty), was allowed by Special Judge RN Rokade.
 

"Had I requested, I could have become the CM. We made Shiv Sena CM for ideology...It was my proposal to make Shinde the CM..but senior party leaders insisted that government won't run if I stayed out of it, so I accepted the deputy CM post on their command," says Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray has said that he was "hurt" to see some members ditching the party despite getting benefits and will visit Hingoli in Marathwada soon, party leaders said on Tuesday, a day after local Sena MLA, Santosh Bangar, crossed over to the Eknath Shinde faction just ahead of the floor test.

Mumbai and its adjoining areas witnessed heavy showers on Tuesday, resulting in water-logging at a number of places including railway tracks, which slowed the movement of trains and vehicles on roads.
 

Prolonged spells of rain will be witnessed in Mumbai and adjoining coastal areas in the next few days, said Skymet President AVM GP Sharma on Tuesday.

"Monsoon has picked up now after a weak month of June. July is predicted to be the rainiest for Mumbai, an alert has been issued. On the 7th, 8th, and 9th of July, heavy rainfall will be witnessed for which precautions should be taken," Sharma told Republic.

Rahul Narvekar, the newly elected Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly met with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Raj Bhavan. This is his first meeting with the Governor after taking charge as the Speaker.

"Ours is a government of common people. Ours is a government where nobody will be insulted. Every community will be respected and taken forward. The state will be taken forward and the process of development will be taken forward," Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, in Mumbai

Four arterial subways in the north-west part of Mumbai had to be closed for traffic on Tuesday due to heavy rains since the early hours of the day, officials said.

These subways, namely Golibar, Milan, Andheri and Malad connect the east and west stretches of the north-western suburbs, which are otherwise divided by Western Railway tracks.

"Motorists have been diverted to alternate routes due to the closure of these four subways at present. Rains have caused traffic snarls in several places, leading to vehicles moving at snail's pace or getting stalled for long periods," a traffic police official said.

In Chamunda Circle in Borivali, traffic was disrupted for some time after an autorickshaw overturned, though no one was injured in the incident, while in areas close to Kalina University in Santa Cruz, vehicles were facing bottlenecks on the way to Kurla, the official said. 

"Coterie surrounding Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray responsible for rebellion in the party; Shivsainiks happy with Eknath Shinde becoming Maharashtra CM," Rebel Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Bornare

"I have asked officials to go to the affected regions and monitor the situation. I have held meetings in this regard, including with NDRF. All steps have been taken to avoid any untoward incidents. If needed, people should be taken to safer places," Shinde said while informing the media that he will visit Pandharpur to perform a puja. The CM also received a guard of honour by Thane Police.

The BEST undertaking, which provides public bus services in Mumbai and neighbouring cities, was forced to divert its buses via alternate routes, due to inundation in Sion, Chembur, Bandra, Air India Colony, Kurla and few other locations, an official said.

A day after the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government won the trust vote in the Assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state cabinet expansion will be done soon. 

Speaking to reporters at the Nagpur airport on Tuesday, Fadnavis expressed his determination towards the development of the state's Vidarbha region.  

"The cabinet expansion will be done soon," Fadnavis said. 
 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have assured him full support for the development and growth of the state.

"I am going to undertake a tour of the entire state and allot projects in every constituency. There will be a total transformation of the state. I do not exaggerate much, I do work and then speak," he said.

He said Prime Minister Modi has told him to work for the development and growth of the state. "He (the PM) told me that he and the central government would support me. Even Union Home Minister Amit Shah has expressed his full support. They said I am good work for Hindutva," Shinde said.
 

The IMD on Tuesday issued a heavy rainfall alert for Maharashtra over the next four days, following which Chief Minister Eknath Shinde directed the state administration officials to take precautions and ensure there is no loss of life or property. The Kundalika river in Raigad district, located near Mumbai, has crossed the danger mark, as per an official statement. 

Mumbai and some of its neighbouring districts witnessed heavy rains and flooding on Tuesday morning.

The IMD has issued an 'orange alert' for south Konkan region and Goa and a 'yellow alert' for north Konkan, north central and south central Maharashtra and Marathwada regions.

"The situation is favourable (for showers). Expect Maharashtra to get widespread rainfall in the next 5 days. Heavy to very rainfall in scattered areas. Ghat areas are also expected to get good rains. In Mumbai, 5,7 and 8 July will see heavy rainfall. Red alert for Ratnagiri and Raigad," IMD official Jayant Sarkar said.