In his address at the Homethon Property Expo - organised by National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), he said the biggest project of its kind undertaken by any government, the Dharavi redevelopment is poised to "change the face of Mumbai" forever.
Stressing on the importance of the realty sector, Fadnavis said that it employs nearly 20 per cent of the population and the government is taking proactive steps to boost it with certain concessions.
He added that the Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area (NAINA) project will also have a major impact on moderating the realty prices in Mumbai and help developers opportunities to provide quality buildings there.
Earlier, the 3-day expo - inaugurated by Brand Ambassadors Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia Deshmukh - kickstarted in the presence of NAREDCO state President Sandeep Runwal, national Vice-Chairman Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani and other top realtors.
Over 150 leading developers are showcasing 10,000 construction projects along with alluring offers to enable customers buy their dream homes, at the property expo happening on a massive scale for the first time in three years owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
The offers include properties ranging from affordable to premium to luxury properties giving consumers a wide range to choose under one roof with attractive offers, at the Jio Convention Centre in Bandra Kurla Complex.
The meeting is said to have taken place Thursday or Friday night.
Local party sources were completely in the dark about the development and none of the office-bearers were in a position to confirm or deny such a meeting.
According to sources from the Vadodara airport, two chartered flights and one BSF plane landed on Friday night. One chartered flight had flown from Delhi to Vadodara, which was carrying Eknath Shinde and another chartered flight landed from Mumbai carrying Devendra Fadanvis.
Before these two flights landed, Amit Shah came in a BSF plane and checked in at circuit house. Sources said late-night Shah moved out of the circuit house with minimum security personnel to an undisclosed place, where a meeting took place among the three.
Sources said the meeting lasted for almost two hours, where every aspect was discussed, like all those camping in Guwahati will stick to their guns and not return to Shiv Sena fold. Even legal aspects were discussed like -- the scenario in case the Deputy Speaker does not recognise the rebel group and acts on Shiv Sena's recommendation of suspending some rebel MLAs.
Sources said two chartered flights took off before 5 p.m. Friday, one headed for Mumbai and another for Delhi. Shah stayed back as he had to attend a sports conclave at Kevadiya Colony on Saturday.
There was no immediate reaction from BJP leader Fadnavis on the fresh charges levelled by Malik.
Malik on Tuesday said he would drop a hydrogen bomb and reveal Fadnavis' alleged underworld links.
Fadnavis had on Tuesday alleged a dubious land deal involving Malik, his family members and two convicts of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case over a decade ago, a charge refuted by the minister.
On Wednesday, the NCP minister said while fake notes were seized in other states after demonetisation on November 8 2016, there was not a single such instance in Maharashtra.
At that time Fadnavis was the chief minister of the state.
Malik said on October 8, 2017, the Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized fake notes worth Rs 14.56 crore from the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC).
But Devendra Fadnavis helped sweep the case under the carpet. The seized amount was later shown with a value of Rs 8.8 lakhs, Malik alleged, questioning why the case was not handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Incidentally, Sameer Wankhade (the Narcotics Control Bureau officer against whom Malik has levelled several serious allegations) was the DRI's joint director at that time, he added.
Malik further said one Imran Alam Sheikh was arrested in this case. Later, his brother Haji Arfat Sheikh was made the chairman of the state minority commission, the minister claimed.
He alleged that Fadnavis appointed people with criminal background on several state boards.
He said one Munna Yadav from Nagpur was made the chairman of the Maharashtra Construction Workers Welfare Board despite criminal charges like murder registered against him.
Malik also alleged that during Fadnavis sheltered an individual whose second wife was a Bangladeshi. When the Malad police tried investigating the case, they was pressured.
Fadnavis resorted to criminalisation of politics by appointing people with criminal background on government posts, the minister alleged.
Malik and Fadnavis have been targeting each other with charges of underworld links. Both have denied any links with the underworld.
On Tuesday, Fadnavis said Malik and his family members were part of a company which purchased land in Kurla area of Mumbai at a very low rate by making some fictitious documents.
Malik had last week sought to link the BJP with an alleged narcotics dealer by tweeting the latter's photograph with the former chief minister and his wife Amruta Fadnavis.
The former CM had then said he will make revelations about Malik's underworld links after Diwali and also share the "documents and proofs" of the same with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar.
Demanding a probe by a competent state or central authority, Fadnavis, the former Maharashtra Chief Minister, said the prime land worth several crores of rupees on LBS Marg in Kurla, was bought by the Malik-linked SIPL, signed by his son Faraz Malik, for barely Rs 30 lakh.
"While Sardar Shahavali Khan is a life-sentence convict, M. Salim Ishaq Patel is a former driver, bodyguard and frontman for Dawood's sister, the late Haseena Parker and also held her Power of Attorney (PoA). So, what was the need for the Malik to enter into a business deal with such persons who killed the people of Mumbai," Fadnavis demanded.
In a quick response, Malik made a challenging tweet: "Aa raha hoon main (I am coming)", referring to his media-briefing a short while later.
Fadnavis declared that this transaction and four other similar deals, prove Malik has links with the underworld and anti-national elements and demanded a probe by suitable state or central agencies, while promising to hand over the documents to NCP President Sharad Pawar.
The beautiful ‘Krishna Hati’, a baby elephant sculpture by Pranab Narayan Das, a Pattachitra artist from Puri secured the top position in the Elephant Parade India organised at the Gateway of India, Mumbai.
The event showcased 101 gorgeous elephant sculptures by leading artists and designers from across Asia. ‘Krishna Hati’ was one among the few selected elephants displayed at special preview events in Jaipur, New Delhi and Kolkata before the grand event in Mumbai.
Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis and Parade Ambassador MP Poonam Mahajan also praised ‘Krishna Hati’ during their visit to the event.
Pranab adorned the Fiber Elephant statue with rich colours and creativity which showcases the legends and important life events of Lord Krishna.
"I have depicted life story of Lord Krishna throughout the body of the elephant. While one ear of the elephant carries the story of Giri Gobardhan , the other ear carries the story of Kali Dalan," said Pranab.
"He is an Odia artist and the people of Odisha should feel proud that they have such an wonderful human being doing this. This the most beautiful elephant amongst the 101 elephants," said Mahajan.
The Elephant Parade is being organised since 2006 worldwide to raise funds for Asian elephant corridors and projects to address human-elephant-conflict. This year, 15 out of the 101 elephant sculptures will be selected to be sold in an auction at London.
The funds will be used to secure 101 elephant corridors across India for the endangered Asian elephant.
Speaking at the Hindustan Time Leadership Summit 2018, Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister of the Congress-ruled Punjab, said his state's economy was not in a good shape and it had become dependent on the Centre after the implementation of the GST last year.
"We do not have money to run the state. After the GST, we have nothing left in the state. We are dependent on the Centre. We do not have industry. We have hostile neighbour who keeps us on our toes. We have only agriculture to go on," Singh said in a discussion, which was attended by his counterparts from Maharashtra and Karnataka.
"We have only three sources of revenue. One is fuel, one is excise and one is stamp duty on transfer of properties... As far as the real estate is concerned, Punjab has not moved ahead as yet because economy is not in good shape. Where do I get my revenue from?"
Endorsing Singh's views, Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy, who runs the Karnataka government with the support of the Congress, said the Centre must take measures to solve the issue.
"The founders of the Constitution allocated some powers to states. The Centre is gradually taking all powers from the states. State governments have no scope for tax collection. We have to be dependent on the Centre," he said.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi has been demanding that petrol and diesel be brought under GST to reduce prices.
Responding to a question on Gandhi's stand on the issue, Kumaraswamy said: "That is his opinion. According to my opinion, the Centre has to take some severe measures."
Maharashtra Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said he agreed with Singh's views "to some extent" saying the GST had left states with little flexibility to have their own revenue.
However, he said he supported the idea of bringing fuel products under the GST saying "At some point of time, we have to do it."
"At the same time, we should think of alternatives. If we go on importing, we are going to play into the hands of the countries manufacturing (producing oil)," he said.
Fadnavis asked for production of bio-fuel and ethanol using agriculture produce as an alternative to crude oil.
"There is so much of agriculture production today that we do not know where to keep. States are buying produce (from farmers) but we do not know how to sell. It is a huge mess," he said.
"Now, we have sufficient foodgrains in our country, we can convert it into bio-fuel, ethanol. The second generation ethanol policy is there. We need to invest more into that. If in Brazil, 100 per cent ethanol can replace petrol and diesel, why can't we?"
"We will be writing off the loans of all deserving and needy farmers. For this we shall make use of IT-based technology. It will be the biggest farm loan waiver in history," Fadnavis told media persons this afternoon.
Seeking to justify the "delay" - as alleged by farmers - he said the state government needs four months for identifying the needy and deserving beneficiaries.
In the past, there were irregularities in the loan waiver schemes, and to avoid that the government will take the help of IT-based technology this time, he said.
Referring to the six-day long strike, Fadnavis said the government is "prepared for negotiations" with the genuine farmers leaders, not with those who are firing from the shoulders of the farmers for politics.
Dismissing the claims of success of the farmers strike and Monday's shutdown, Fadnavis said: "Of the 307 APMC's, 300 were working, three were on strike, and four had their weekly off yesterday. I have complete details of the people behind the violence in different areas and the (political) parties to which they belong."
Maharashtra has witnessed, since June 1, the first ever "strike" by several lakhs of farmers who have secured support of ruling allies Shiv Sena and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana.
Besides, the opposition parties like the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Leftist parties and 35 major trade unions, various NGOs, lawyers and other groups have also supported and joined the farmers’ agitation.
The state government's Sikorsky helicopter VT-CMM took offf from Nilanga town, near Latur around noon with six persons, including Fadnavis, two crew members and three other officials.
However, shortly after take-off, the pilot noticed variable wind patterns and decided to return to the helipad.
But during landing the chopper got entangled in some overhead electrical wires near the helipad and crash-landed there, the official said.
All the persons on board, including Fadnavis, are safe though the chopper suffered substantial damage.
Fadnavis tweeted - "Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur, but me and my team are absolutely safe and ok. Nothing to worry."
A post on Tapkir's Facebook page indicates he was disturbed over financial loss in filmmaking and a troubled family life.
Police had to break open the hotel room where they found Tapkir's body.
A case of accidental death (ADR) has been registered by the Deccan Gymkhana Police Station, and the body has been sent for an autopsy, a police official told IANS.
One of the last 'suicidal' messages posted on Tapkir's Facebook page on Saturday suggests he was depressed over the financial losses he suffered by producing Marathi film "Dhol Taashe".
In the lengthy post, he claimed that while his father and sisters backed him, his wife Priyanka allegedly harassed him.
Tapkir said his wife threw him out of their home, and he was living out of the house since six months.
He was also upset as she alienated their children from him, apart from making allegations against him, defaming him in the neighbourhood and abusing him.
Tapkir's post -- written in Marathi -- mentioned that his wife got her "so-called" brothers to threaten and beat him up.
He shared how when some days ago, he called her and abused her, she abused him and his family in return and lodged a police complaint against them.
Tapkir has urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis that "the police must listen to a man's side of the story too when a woman lodges a complaint".
He said his last wish was that since his wife cannot look after their children, his father should raise them.
As proof of the harassment he faced, Tapkir said he has saved in a pen drive, the incident when his wife's brother hurled abuses at him.
Devendra Fadnavis was on October 31 sworn in as chief minister of the state where BJP formed its government for the first time without an alliance.
44-year-old Fadnavis took oath at a grand function at Wankhede Stadium attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had campaigned intensively in Assembly polls, addressing as many as 27 poll rallies.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, whose party had decided to boycott the event citing "constant humiliation" by BJP during talks for formation of a coalition government, attended after a last minute call by BJP President Amit Shah.
Though BJP emerged the single largest party, with 122 seats, the figure was short of the 145 needed for majority in the 288-member House. The Sharad Pawar-led NCP announced unconditional outside support.
However, some in BJP were wary of Pawar's game plan, amid speculation that NCP could use it as a bargaining chip to stall corruption cases against senior NCP leaders while they were ministers.
Back channel parleys continued with former ally Shiv Sena, with whom BJP had ended its 25-year-old alliance two days before the deadline for filing nominations for Assembly polls.
The parleys were successful and on December 4, Fadnavis announced that Sena will be joining his government "in keeping with the mandate" and will get 12 ministerial berths but there will be no deputy chief minister's post. The next day, 10 Sena ministers, along with 10 from BJP took oath, raising the strength of Fadnavis ministry's to 30.
Munde, the OBC face of BJP in Maharashtra who had just been named the Union Rural Development Minister, died of injuries in a road accident in Delhi in June. He was state BJP's tallest mass leader, a fact acknowledged by Modi, when he said he would not have campaigned in the state had Munde been alive.
His daughter Pankaja was inducted in the Fadnavis Cabinet and given the rural development portfolio. Her sister Preetam won the Beed Lok Sabha bypoll, necessitated due to Munde's demise, by a record margin of 6,92,245 votes.
The Sena did not get any 'crucial' portfolios like Home, Revenue and Water Resources. Also, Fadnavis had already made it clear that there won't be a post of Deputy CM in his government.
The cabinet ministers who had taken oath yesterday were Girish Bapat (BJP), Girish Mahajan (BJP), Diwakar Raote (Shiv Sena), Subhash Desai (SS), Ramdas Kadam (SS), Eknath Shinde (SS), Chandrashekhar Bawankule (BJP), Babanrao Lonikar (BJP), Dr Deepak Sawant (SS) and Rajkumar Badole (BJP).
Subhash Desai of the Shiv Sena, a close confidante of Uddhav Thackeray, was alloted the Industries portfolio, previously held by BJP leader Prakash Mehta.
Sena leader Diwakar Raote, currently a member of legislative council and former Mumbai Mayor, has been given the Transport portfolio.
Eknath Shinde of Sena, a third time MLA and Leader of Opposition till yesterday will hold the charge of Public Works (including Public Undertakings) in the state ministry.
Sena leader Dr Deepak Sawant, who is currently an MLC, has been alloted Public Health and Family Welfare department.
Ramdas Kadam of Sena, an MLC, and a former LoP, has been made in-charge of Environment portfolio.
BJP leader Girish Bapat, sixth term MLA from Kasba Peth in Pune has been alloted Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, Food and Drugs Administration and Parliamentary Affairs.
Girish Mahajan, fifth term BJP MLA from Jamner in Jalgaon will hold charge of Water Resources.
Chandrashekhar Bawankule of BJP, who is a third term MLA from Kamptee in Vidarbha has been alloted Energy, New and Renewable Energy portfolio.
The coming together of the two saffron parties, which split before the Assembly elections and fought against each other, was announced by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who held parleys with Shiv Sena leaders in the last few days.
"It is the desire of the people of Maharashtra that BJP and Shiv Sena should be part of the government," he told reporters, addressing a joint press conference with senior Sena leaders.
The induction of BJP's oldest saffron ally will give the government a clear majority of 184 in a House of 288. The BJP has 121 MLAs while the Shiv Sena 63. The NCP, which has 41 MLAs, had announced outside support to the state government, which was sworn in on October 31.
With Sena now set to join the government, Fadnavis can breathe easy during the winter session of legislature, beginning in Nagpur on December 8.
In an indication of BJP's dominance, Fadnavis ruled out having a deputy chief minister in the ministry.
12 ministers from Sena, including five of cabinet rank will be inducted, the chief minister said. Around 8 to 10 BJP ministers will take oath tomorrow, he added.
The swearing in will take place at 4 PM at the Vidhan Bhawan premises.
"Shiv Sena has always been a friend and in future we will be friends," Fadnavis said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.
The comment by the Chief Minister comes two days after Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who was BJP's Maharashtra in-charge, hoped that something good will emerge out of the talks between the two parties.
There is growing pressure from the ranks of both parties to patch up and be part of the ruling alliance in a bid to keep the NCP at a distance.
Fadnavis said the RSS was not mediating between Shiv Sena and BJP, who parted ways just ahead of the Assembly polls due to differences over seat-sharing.
On the confidence vote, the Maharashtra Chief Minister said, "I have never faced so much criticism in 22 years of my political life as much I faced in the three days after facing no confidence motion."
Speaking in the state Assembly during the Question hour, Fadnavis said "pension was an honour more than money" for those who served jail term during the Emergency.
"Many people refused the pension. But some are still poor who lost jobs after being arrested for no fault of theirs," he noted.
Earlier, Minister of State for Relief and Rehabilitation Madan Yerawar, while responding to a question by NCP member Ajit Pawar, said 3,267 applications for pension were approved so far.
Out of these, 1,179 applications were approved on the basis of the Rs 100 stamp paper submitted to prove that the applicant served a jail term during the Emergency.
Pawar asked how can the pension be given without proof and what was the guarantee that the stamp paper was genuine.
To this, Yerawar said the applications were scrutinised by a committee headed by the district collector concerned and only genuine ones were approved.
"A budget of Rs 42 crore was finalised for the pension scheme and out of this, Rs 28 crore to Rs 29 crore has been disbursed," he said.
BJP member Parag Alavani then said those imprisoned during the Emergency are now senior citizens and finding it difficult to make frequent visits to the collectorate.
"It is not true that the pension can be availed by just submitting an affidavit. There should be a separate cell in the collectorate office to handle the pension scheme," he demanded.
Subhash Patil (of the Peasants and Workers' Party) said his father and uncle served 18 months in jail during the Emergency and that his family had to face lot of hardships.
"Those who served in jail during the Emergency want honour more than money. It would be good if the pension amount is increased to Rs 25,000 and a citation is also given," he said.
However, Fadnavis rejected the demand for an increase in the pension amount, saying, if needed, it would be considered in future. But, he agreed for a citation along with the pension.
As per the government's decision, those who were imprisoned for a month will be given a monthly pension of Rs 5,000 and those jailed for more duration will get Rs 10,000 per month.
If those imprisoned have died, their kin would be given a monthly pension of Rs 2,500 (for jail term of a month or less) and Rs 5,000 (for jail term of more than a month).
Congress member Basavraj Patil demanded an increase in the pension amount for those who participated in the 'Marathwada Mukti Sangram' (liberation of Marathwada).
To this, Fadnavis said pensions for those who took part in the freedom struggles for Goa, Marathwada and India are on par and have recently been hiked.
Emergency was imposed in India from June 25, 1975 to March 21, 1977 by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi.
Their reactions came after communication between India's moon lander Vikram and the orbiter got snapped in a last minute snag with the former just 2.1 km away from its designated landing spot on the Moon's South Pole early on Saturday.
Announcing the loss of the communication link, ISRO Chairman K. Sivan said that the performance of the lander was as per the plan till it was at an altitude of 2.1 km from the Moon's surface.
But despite the setback, the Chief Ministers hailed the hard work and efforts put in by the space agency and its scientists.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took to Twitter, saying that ISRO's "work will not go in vain." He added that it would inspire many and "lay the foundation for many more path-breaking space projects and make India a leader in space science."
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar also took to the micro-blogging site, saying there were no failures, but only temporary roadblocks.
While Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "leadership and the way he ignited courage, hope and motivation among the scientists and gave the mantra of "never give up and keep marching ahead", his Goa counterpart Pramod Sawant said the scientists were "among the few special ones in the world who possessed the expertise and capabilities to undertake space missions of such great magnitude."
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said that a "minor setback in the last stanza is a stepping stone for success."
Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa took to Twitter to hail the ISRO for "having dared to land at South Pole of the Moon where no one else has ever attempted," adding that this was "just a success postponed."
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that he was certain that the ISRO scientists would overcome this "small setback."
While Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a tweet that there was no need to lose hope as "our scientists have done a great job," his Punjab counterpart Amarinder Singh expressed hope for the revival of communication with the lander.
Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called the Chandrayaan-2 "a befitting tribute to our founding fathers who envisioned India's place in the league of scientifically advanced nations far ahead of their times."
"A testimony to the scientific temper they ingrained in us, and their unmatched caliber and dedication," she added.
Chief Ministers Jai Ram Thakur (Himachal Pradesh), Kamal Nath (Madhya Pradesh) and Raghubar Das (Jharkhand) also took to Twitter to congratulate the ISRO for its efforts.
While Thakur retweeted a video of Modi's address to the nation on Saturday morning, Das said the Prime Minister "stood like a rock despite the setback." Nath said the "hard work and efforts will not go waste".
Chief Ministers Sarbananda Sonowal (Assam), Conrad Sangma (Meghalaya), Pema Khandu (Arunachal Pradesh), N. Biren Singh (Manipur) and Biplab Kumar Deb (Tripura) also expressed their gratitude to the Indian space agency on Twitter.
Deb in his tweet also mentioned Subrata Chakraborty, a key engineer in the Chandrayaan-2 mission who hails from Tripura.
The Supreme Court in its order said that no more trees should be cut in the colony till that date to facilitate the construction of a car shed for Mumbai Metro.
The top court also recorded an undertaking by the Devendra Fadnavis government assuring the same.
A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra further ordered the police to release all activists, who were detained till date for their protest preventing the axing of trees. It has been flash point between environmentalists, residents on one side and proponents of infrastructural development on the other side.
While several Bollywood stars have echoed concerns, actors Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar have come out in support of the government backing the metro project.
Uddhav Thackeray, the chief of the BJP's coalition partner Shiv Sena, and his son, Aaditya Thackeray have thrown their weight behind the activists, who have been fighting for the last two years.
The two-judge bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Ashok Bhushan was constituted after a group of law students wrote to Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi seeking the top court's intervention in the matter and the cutting of trees to be suspended immediately.
This comes a day after the Bombay High Court rejected an application moved by environmentalists seeking a stay on the cutting of trees.
Aarey Colony, a green belt in suburban Goregaon which has more than five lakh trees, together with Sanjay Gandhi National Park, is known as the green lungs of Mumbai.
The protests against cutting of trees also sparked Twitter campaigns and online 'petitions' such as #ArreyChipko #SaveAarey.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Fadnavis told reporters: "I assure you that this will be a BJP-led government. The Shiv Sena was not promised CM's post for two-and-a-half years when the alliance was formalised before the Lok Sabha polls."
Bhupendra Yadav, a close aide of Union Home Minister and BJP President Amit Shah, flew into Mumbai to sit on the negotiating table along with Chandarkant Dada Patil. From Sena's side, Sanjay Raut and Subhash Desai were tasked with the job. But now, in a brazen move which is seen as a retort to Fadnavis' statement, Sena has called off the meeting.
Fadnavis's statement, in turn, came against the backdrop of a no-filter attack on BJP by Raut. He said on Tuesday: "There's no Dushyant Chautala here whose father is in jail. We do politics of truth in Maharashtra. if someone tries to keep us away from power, it's not called politics of truth. We are seeing what's happening and how low people can stoop."
It was a clear reference to the way the BJP cobbled up a government in Haryana where it fell six short of the magic number but formed the government with the help of Dushyant Chautala, whose Jannayak Janata Party ran an election campaign on Jat consolidation and anti-BJP rhetoric.
Both the BJP and Sena, who have 105 and 56 seats, respectively, in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, are now exploring ways and means to form a government, independent of each other, as their Plan B.
Meanwhile, BJP's Mumbai spokesperson Suresh Nakhua told IANS: "There's a saying which goes like this: "If you are with us, with you. If you are not with us, without you. If you are against us, in spite of you.' It will be BJP government and BJP CM, I can assure you. Rest all are meaningless."
The BJP legislature party met in Mumbai on Wednesday afternoon, a day after Fadnavis asserted that he would be the chief minister for the next five years, without giving out details on how the BJP will form the government. However, soon after his election, Fadnavis asserted, the mandate is for "grand alliance" of Sena-BJP and the two will form the government.
But Tuesday was marked with day-long exchange of rhetoric and counter-rhetoric between the two parties. First, Sena leader Sanjay Raut alleged the BJP was "stooping low". Then Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis issued a statement rejecting Shiv Sena's claim of 50-50 formula, which they have been adamant about.
Later on Tuesday evening, Shiv Sena cancelled its meeting with the BJP leadership, including close aide of Amit Shah, Bhupendra Yadav, to iron out differences.
Even after five days of the Maharashtra Assembly results, the BJP-Shiv Sena combine failed to stake its claim to form the government, with Sena flaunting "other options" and BJP claiming Sena MLAs who are ready to come on board with BJP.
OFFER-I:
To appease Shiv Sena, the BJP may offer to increase its share in the state and the Centre. Giving two ministerial posts in the Union cabinet to Sena is being actively explored. If Sena agrees to it, an immediate Union cabinet expansion may take place, soon after the oath-taking ceremony in Maharashtra.
OFFER-II:
The BJP is also willing to give the Deputy Chief Minister's post in the state to Sena. A state party leader told IANS requesting anonymity that the BJP knew they would have to offer a Deputy CM's post to Sena, when the BJP tally couldn't cross 120, as predicted by the party. "From the result day, we were clear that we are offering a Deputy CM's post to the Sena", said the BJP leader based in Mumbai.
OFFER-III:
As much as 40% share in the state cabinet is also likely to be offered by BJP to its warring partner, who is leaving no stone unturned, including using editorials in its mouthpiece Saamna, to target BJP. This will be a major climbdown by the saffron party.
This bouquet of three offers is what the BJP is likely to offer to Sena, as the two sit across the negotiating table to end the post-result drama. But one thing at least three BJP leaders have stressed while speaking to IANS is that there will be no sharing of the Chief Minister's post, come what may.
"The governor has accepted my resignation. I thank the people of Maharashtra for giving me the chance to serve them for the last five years," Fadnavis said.
Refuting the Shiv Sena's claim, Fadnavis asserted that "in my presence", no decision had been taken by the two parties over sharing the chief minister's post.
The Sena had claimed that before the Lok Sabha polls, the two allies had decided to share the CM's post in the next term for two-and-half-years each.
He called Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray for breaking the impasse many times, but "Uddhav-ji did not take my calls," Fadnavis claimed.
The Shiv Sena's "policy" of not talking with the BJP but holding talks with the opposition Congress and NCP was wrong, he said.
Fadnavis drove to Raj Bhavan in south Mumbai and submitted his resignation to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
There has been no headway in government formation even a fortnight after Assembly poll results were announced on October 24.
The BJP and Shiv Sena are locked in a tussle over the issue of the chief minister's post, resulting in a stalemate despite the Assembly poll results giving the alliance a combined seat strength of 161, way past the 145 majority mark in the 288-member House.
In the polls, the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena-56, NCP-54 and the Congress won 44 seats.
Responding to outgoing Chief Minister ' statement that there was "no discussion between the BJP and Shiv Sena on sharing the post of Chief Minister", Thackeray said: "(BJP President) Amit Shah himself gave me this assurance. Now they're going back on their word. That's why I have stopped talking to liars."
Appearing to take the final stage of no return, the Sena chief said: "Giving the state a Sena Chief Minister was a promise I made to my father (the late Bal Thackeray). We don't need the support of the BJP, Shah or Fadnavis for achieving that."
He also called upon the BJP to immediately stake claim to form the government as it was the largest single party, failing which "all options are open before the Sena", which would not abandon the people of Maharashtra.
The oath was administered to the duo by Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at a function in Raj Bhavan held around 8 AM in the presence of a few BJP and NCP leaders, and other government officials.
Soon afterwards, Fadnavis said that the Governor would give them a letter instructing when to prove the new government's majority on the floor of the Assembly. He added that the cabinet would be expanded at a later date.
Soon after the two took the oath, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to twitter to congratulate Fadnavis and Pawar.
Congratulations to @Dev_Fadnavis Ji and @AjitPawarSpeaks Ji on taking oath as the CM and Deputy CM of Maharashtra respectively. I am confident they will work diligently for the bright future of Maharashtra.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 23, 2019
BJP President Amit Shah also took to Twitter to congratulate Fadnavis and Pawar on formation of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in Maharashtra.
"Hearty congratulations to Shri @Dev_Fadnavis ji on taking oath as Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Shri @AjitPawarSpeaks as Deputy Chief Minister of the state," tweeted Shah.
He added, "I am confident that this government will be continuously committed to the development and welfare of Maharashtra and will set new standards of progress in the state."
श्री @Dev_Fadnavis जी को महाराष्ट्र के मुख्यमंत्री और श्री @AjitPawarSpeaks को प्रदेश के उपमुख्यमंत्री के रूप में शपथ लेने पर हार्दिक बधाई।
मुझे विश्वास है कि यह सरकार महाराष्ट्र के विकास और कल्याण के प्रति निरंतर कटिबद्ध रहेगी और प्रदेश में प्रगति के नये मापदंड स्थापित करेगी।
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) November 23, 2019
In early morning development Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) came together and met the Maharashtra Governor and staked claim for forming the government.
(With IANS Inputs)
Speaking to reporters Malik said, "Meeting of the NCP MLAs has been called at 4 p.m. to discuss the future course of action."
Talking about the 10 MLAs present during the oath-taking ceremony of Ajit Pawar, Malik said, "The MLAs were called in the morning for a meeting and then taken to the Raj Bhawan. Four out of the 10 MLAs, who went there have returned. We had a word with few more MLAs and they might also return," he said.
Malik also reiterated that the "illegitimate" BJP-Ajit Pawar government in Maharashtra will fail the floor test in the Assembly.
He said, "We have come to know that the Governor has given them time till November 30 to prove their majority in the House. And we will defeat them in the House and then there will be an NCP Speaker."
Malik, who was also part of the team that discussed the common minimum programme and was instrumental in bringing the NCP, Shiv Sena and Congress together to form a government in the state also alleged that Ajit Pawar misused the signatures of the MLAs taken for attendance.
"We had taken signatures of the MLAs for attendance, but it was misused as a basis for oath," he said.
Earlier in the day, Sharad Pawar paraded few of the MLAs, who went with Ajit Pawar in the joint press conference with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.
The Congress, NCP and the Shiv Sena were left surprised as Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Chief Minister with Ajit Pawar as his deputy. The three parties were in talks to form a government in the state. President's rule was imposed in Maharashtra on November 12 after none of the parties were able to form a government in the 288-member assembly.
The BJP emerged as the single largest party in the state by winning 105 seats while its pre-poll alliance partner Shiv Sena bagged 56 seats. The Congress and the NCP won 44 and 54 seats, respectively, in the October 21 election.
"Why has the Governor given the BJP such a long time (till November 30) to prove its majority? If he invites us, we can prove our strength in 10 minutes flat," Raut declared.
He demanded to know if they had the majority, then "what was the need to hold the swearing-in ceremony at the dead of the night, the Chief Minister of the state taking over when the people of the state are sleeping."
The Sena MP pointed out that the BJP tried to break parties like Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress even before elections and now after the results are out, but "its ploy will backfire."
"We have said from the beginning that we have 170 MLAs' support... Now, with five MLAs missing, we have the support for 165 legislators in our camp. Write this down."
Terming Saturday's development as a 'black day' in the country's history, Raut said the BJP has now lost all the right to label the Emergency which it keeps calling as the 'Black Day.'
On Saturday's shocking developments, he said that the BJP cheated NCP leader Ajit Pawar hoping he would bring 50-55 MLAs, he, in turn, gypped the legislators, and the legislators, in turn, fooled him by deserting him and returning to the party.
To a query on whether he faced threats for taking on the BJP, Raut smiled and said he has been under threat since long but cared two hoots and with the blessings of the party, would "successfully chase off all such threats."
In the special hearing on a holiday, the apex court also issued notices to the Centre, Maharashtra government on the petition filed by Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combine against the Maharashtra Governor's decision to swear in Fadnavis as chief minister.
A bench of Justices N V Ramana, Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna also issued a notice to Fadnavis and Dy chief minister Ajit Pawar.
The bench declined the fervent request of Mehta seeking two days time to place Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's communication on record and asked him to produce letters by Monday at 10:30 am when the matter will be taken again.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and A M Singhvi, appearing for the combine, told the bench that floor test is conducted today itself so that it can be ascertained that Fadnavis enjoys a majority in the house.
They maintained that post-poll alliance of the three parties have the majority in the 288-member house.
While Sibal termed as 'bizarre' the Governor's decision to revoke President's rule and anoint Fadnavis as the chief minister, Singhvi said it is a "murder of democracy."
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for two BJP MLAs and some independents, questioned the maintainability of the writ petition filed by the combine and said they should have approached the Bombay High Court.
At the outset, the Shiv Sena-NCP-Cong combine asserted that they have the majority in the Maharashtra Assembly and if Fadnavis has the numbers he should prove majority on the floor of House.
The combine also said that it was 'betrayal and annihilation' of democracy that government has been allowed to be formed when 41 NCP MLAs are not with the BJP.
"If Devendra Fadnavis has numbers to prove majority, let him prove it on the floor of House, else we have numbers to form government in Maharashtra," Sibal said.
Singhvi submitted that 41 MLAs of NCP are with Sharad Pawar.
While 54 is the total strength of NCP, 41 MLAs wrote to the Maharashtra Governor saying Ajit Pawar has been removed as its leader, Singhvi told the bench.
Sibal said that the November 30 deadline given by the Governor to the ruling party to prove majority is meant to do 'something else.'
"It is a complete 'betrayal and annihilation' of democracy where the government has been allowed to be formed when 41 NCP MLAs are not with them," they submitted.
The top court said none is disputing that floor test is the best method to show the majority.
Rohatgi said how can a political party approach apex court under Article 32 for violation of Fundamental Rights.
"They (three parties) were given time but they did not form government, so let Fadnavis prove majority as there was no tearing hurry," Rohatgi told the bench.
Singhvi referred to judgements in various cases including dismissal of the Uttarakhand Cong govt, saying that floor test is the ultimate test.
He also referred to the 2018 apex court's order in Karnataka case and said floor test was ordered and there was no secret ballot.
"Floor test is Constitutional obligation, no formality is needed and it can be ordered," Singhvi told the bench.
Rohatgi further said that the Governor's decision to invite a political party is not open to judicial review as it is his discretionary power.
"What governor did yesterday is immune from any judicial review, choice of party is with him," Rohatgi said.
He said Floor test is ultimate and 2-3 days time should be given to prove majority.
Rohatgi submitted that even orders of Governor have not been filed and the plea filed by the combine is without any documents and annexures.
He also said that Governor or President has some discretion and immunity under Article 361 to choose a person who stakes a claim and appoint him as the chief minister or the Prime Minister.
"Every party should be allowed some time to respond to plea and allow us to spend Sunday peacefully," Rohatgi said concluding arguments.
The apex court also directed Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to ensure that all elected members of the house are sworn in on Wednesday itself. The entire exercise has to be completed by 5 pm.
A bench comprising Justices N V Ramana, Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna also said the entire proceedings has to be telecast live. Voting in the assembly shall not be on the basis of secret ballot, it said.
The governor will also appoint a pro-tem speaker who will administer the oath to the newly elected members.
"Ajit Pawar handed in his resignation this morning. So we don't have the requisite numbers to continue. Accordingly, I have decided to quit. I shall go to the Governor and submit my resignation today," Fadnavis told a crowded media conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Fadnavis took charge of his new assignment on Monday morning, but Ajit Pawar, who did not take charge, decided to quit and gave his resignation letter to CM on Tuesday morning.
This also paves the way for the installation of a Nationalist Congress Party-Congress-Shiv Sena government in the state.
The BJP, with 105 MLAs, staged a walkout before headcount of members began in the 288-member House.
The boycott, it said, was against the "unlawful manner" in which the ministers were sworn in and the House session convened.
Altogether 169 MLAs vote in favour of the motion of confidence, moved by former CM Ashok Chavan and seconded by senior NCP and Sena members.
Pro tem Speaker Dilip Walse Patil informed the House that four MLAs abstained during the vote.
They include two from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), one from CPI(M) and a member of the MNS, led by Uddhav's estranged cousin Raj Thackeray.
Claiming that the business transacted in the Assembly ahead of the floor test was in violation of Constitutional norms, the BJP staged a walkout, adding it will raise the issue before Governor B S Koshyari.
BJP legislature unit leader Devendra Fadnavis objected to replacement of party MLA Kalidas Kolambkar as the pro tem speaker with NCP's Dilip Walse Patil. Such a replacement has happened for the first time in the history of India as the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance was scared of losing the floor test, he said in the House.
"Business is being transacted in the House in violation of the Constitution. The session itself is not in line with the rules," Fadnavis told reporters after BJP members staged the walkout.
"Since national anthem was played out after the last session, this means it ended sine die," Fadnavis said.
A summons was required to be issued through the governor to convene a new session but that was not the case, Fadnavis said.
He also claimed that the oath-taking ceremony of Thackeray and six other ministers were also not in line with the rules.
"Someone took Balasaheb Thackeray's name, someone took names of (Congress chief) Sonia (Gandhi) ji and (NCP president Sharad) Pawar Saheb. The oath was not taken as per the given format," Fadnavis added.
On the floor test being conducted on the pro tem speaker's watch, Fadnavis said this was done as the government was scared of losing the trust vote under a regular speaker.
"They were afraid their government will collapse if regular Speaker is there...That's why we walked out. We are going to write to the governor saying the business was not transacted in line with the Constitution," he said.
Uddhav Thackeray, wearing a saffron turban, thanked House members and people of Maharashtra after the pro tem speaker declared that his government had won the floor test.
"I thank all the members for trusting me. I also thank the people of the state. It is not possible to work without their blessings," he said.
"There was some pressure before coming to the House as I did not have the experience of working in the House but only on the ground. I feel fortunate to be here," he said.
This was 59-year-old Thackeray's first time in the House. Behind him sat his son Aaditya, along with with other Sena MLA, all wearing saffron turbans.
"You (the BJP) feel stung when we took names of Chhatrapati Shivaji (while taking the oath). I will take the name again and again. Those who don't take names of their parents have no right to live," he said.
"It is not Maharashtra's culture when you think taking the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji and parents is a crime," he said.
Speaker Nana F. Patole announced the name of Fadnavis to the prestigious post amid applause and thumping of desks by the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi members and the opposition benches.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and other leaders like Jayant Patil, Eknath Shinde, Balasaheb Thorat congratulated Fadnavis and welcomed his election to the post.
Fadnavis, 49, was elected as the first-ever BJP CM of the state in October 2014 and later sworn-in again in November 2019 along with NCP's Ajit Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister. However, the two-man government collapsed in barely 80 hours, paving the way for the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress's MVA regime.
A member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Fadnavis hails from the state's second capital Nagpur and was elected as Nagpur Municipal Corporation Mayor for five years in 1997 - the second youngest ever in India.
Earlier, he had served as the BJP state President and has been elected for the fifth consecutive term starting from 1999 as a MLA from Nagpur, also known as the Orange City.
A day after Deshmukh made the sensational claim and ordered a probe, Fadnavis, the then chief minister who also held the home portfolio, asserted phone tapping was not the culture of the state and his government had not given any such orders.
Fadnavis pointed out that a Shiv Sena leader was the Minister of State for Home during his tenure.
The Congress, a key constituent of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, joined the NCP in attacking the BJP and demanded a high-level inquiry into the entire episode.
"The previous BJP-led government had tapped phones of senior NCP and Congress leaders through government mechanism ahead of the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls held last year," Deshmukh alleged.
He said there are also allegations that the then government had sent some officials to Israel and brought software to "intercept" phones of leaders of the Congress and the NCP, which were then in opposition.
Deshmukh did not name the NCP and Congress leaders whose phones the Devendra Fadnavis-led government had allegedly tapped.
"They had stooped low in politics. We have initiated probe into it," the NCP minister said.
Speaking with the media in Bhandara district in Vidarbha on Friday, Deshmukh reiterated the phone-tapping allegations against the BJP-led government.
"The BJP government, before the polls, tried to gather information about what and with whom these (NCP-Congress) leaders were talking to," he said.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Friday said a BJP leader had informed him that his phone was being tapped by the Fadnavis government, in which his party was an ally.
"A BJP leader had told me that my phone was being tapped. I said if anybody wants to listen to what I am saying I welcome it. I am Balasaheb's 'chela' (disciple), whatever I do, I do it openly," Raut told reporters here.
"In spite of the phone-tapping, we formed the government in Maharashtra," he said.
The Sena formed government with the Congress and the NCP in November last year after snapping its alliance with the BJP.
On Thursday, Deshmukh had alleged the Fadnavis dispensation misused government machinery to tap the phones of opposition leaders, especially during the formation of the MVA government in November.
"The cyber cell of the Maharashtra police has been asked to look into the various complaints of snooping/phone tapping that came in during the previous government," Deshmukh had said.
Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad, an NCP leader, on Friday said the phone tapping episode smacks of "sick mentality" of the BJP and added it should be probed as to why the previous government did so.
"I only had levelled the allegations. Why you want to poke into the people's private life? There are political and ideological differences between us, but not personal.
Maharashtra should know who is behind this," he added.
PWD minister and Congress leader Ashok Chavan alleged the BJP could stoop to any level to get power. He demanded a high-level inquiry into the phone tapping allegations.
"The allegations of tapping of phones of Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena leaders during the Fadnavis regime were serious.
The Chief Minister should order a high level probe into the allegations," Chavan said.
The BJP's agenda was to secure unlimited and unbridled power, the Congress leader alleged.
Unperturbed by the allegations, Fadnavis said the MVA government was free to conduct an inquiry into the matter.
"Phone-tapping is not the culture of Maharashtra. My government had not given any such orders," Fadnavis, now the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, said in a statement.
"The whole country knows the credibility of those who have levelled such allegations," Fadnavis, who was the chief minister of the state between 2014 and 2019, said.
"The state government is free to probe the allegations with the help of any machinery. People of Maharashtra know the truth. A Shiv Sena leader was the minister of state for home during my tenure," he added.
"I have a request - the government should immediately conduct an inquiry and make the report public. If it wants to go to Israel for the probe, it should do that," he said.
(PTI)
The former Maharashtra chief minister said such act will only create "disbelief" among people about the (transparency of) investigation.
Instead of solving the mystery of #SushantSinghRajput ‘s death , such behaviour will only result into huge public outcry and disbelief amongst the people about the investigation.
— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) August 3, 2020
After he reached Mumbai, Patna City SP Vinay Tiwari was quarantined late last night by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) with his hand stamped indicating the isolation period till August 15.
"Instead of solving the mystery of Sushant Singh Rajput's death, such behaviour will only result into huge public outcry and disbelief amongst the people about the investigation," Fadnavis, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, tweeted.
He said movement of officers on public service duty can't be stopped by putting them in quarantine in these testing times.
Fadnavis cited earlier visits of officials from Kerala and Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai for official works.
"A medical team from Kerala visited Mumbai, UP Police came to investigate Vikas Dubey case. A team from Bihar police is already working in Mumbai since 4 days but none of them was quarantined then why only an SP rank officer is treated differently? he asked.
(PTI)
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"I have been working every single day since the lockdown, but now it seems that God wants me to stop for a while and take a break!," Fadnavis tweeted.
Revealing that he has contracted the coronavirus and gone into isolation, assured that he was taking all mediation and as per the advice of his doctors.
Fadnavis, 50, is the BJP in-charge for the ongoing crucial Assembly elections in Bihar and during his hectic poll schedules, has been regularly shutting between Maharashtra and Bihar in the past few weeks.
The ex-Chief Minister also suggested that all those who had come in contact with him the past few days must take care and get themselves tested for Covid-19 as a precaution.
(IANS)
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