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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 8:56:24 pm

Aaditya bats for ‘truth’

Mumbai: Two days after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a FIR in the Disha Salian case, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA and ex-Minister Aaditya Thackeray broke his silence – to proclaim that he would “fight for truth and against injustice”, here on Wednesday. “For the sake of truth, against injustice, our fight will continue,” vowed Aditya, daring his opponents that all attempts to silence him through ‘politically motivated character assassination’ will not succeed. Thackeray Jr’s...

Aaditya bats for ‘truth’

Mumbai: Two days after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a FIR in the Disha Salian case, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA and ex-Minister Aaditya Thackeray broke his silence – to proclaim that he would “fight for truth and against injustice”, here on Wednesday. “For the sake of truth, against injustice, our fight will continue,” vowed Aditya, daring his opponents that all attempts to silence him through ‘politically motivated character assassination’ will not succeed. Thackeray Jr’s assertion came after the CBI recorded the statement of Disha Salian’s father Satish Salian as per the September 2 directives of the Bombay High Court handing over the case probe to the central agency. Taking to X today, Aaditya said: “To stop the dust of rumors once again, I'm stating only and only the facts! Let’s cut through the noise and talk facts, once again. I have never met Disha Salian, nor did I have any acquaintance with her, or have known her." Nevertheless, Aaditya said that for the past six years, due to political motives arising out of personal enmity and with the intent of character assassination, “some people have been deliberately trying to link my name to this unfortunate incident repeatedly, despite there being no evidence or connection whatsoever”. With an apparent tinge of regret, the SS (UBT) MLA said that the false discussions on television channels and media trials carried out through empty bluster cannot alter the truth. “Loud TV debates and media trials do not change the facts. Let the official re-investigation proceed without malicious distractions and relentless smear campaigns run by vested interests without a single shred of evidence and truth is highly unfortunate,” Aaditya said. The controversy dates back to June 2020, when Disha Salian, 28, a celebrity manager who had worked with the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, died after falling from a high-rise building in Malad. The Mumbai Police initially investigated the death as an accidental-death matter and subsequently concluded there was no foul play. Later however, her father Satish Salian challenged the handling of the case and sought a fresh investigation. Allowing his plea, the high court ordered the CBI to register an FIR and conduct a substantive investigation with an open mind into the circumstances surrounding her death. Crucially, the court also stated that it was not making findings against any individual and directed that no person be treated as an accused unless material emerged during investigations.

NCP(SP) eyes bigger share in MVA

Correspondent
Oct 18, 2024
2 min read

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

Buoyed by the Lok Sabha results and the return of regional satraps and party workers into the fold, the NCP SP is increasing its bargaining power in the MVA’s seat sharing talks

MVA

Mumbai: For political parties within two state’s two major alliances, it’s time to flex muscle and corner the maximum number of seats as seat sharing talks are under way in full fervour. On Thursday, while speaking to reporters in Karad, Pawar claimed that the MVA leaders have reached consensus on 200 seats while 88 were still under discussion. If the outcome of the recent Haryana polls and the Lok Sabha results are any measure, the NCP-SP is well suited to get its demands met within the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi.


In the Lok Sabha elections held in April this year, Sharad Pawar’s party enjoyed a strike rate of 80 per cent, winning eight out of the 10 seats it contested. In contrast, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena won only nine out of the 21 constituencies it contested and the Congress won 13 of 17 seats.


The tally of 2019 is unlikely to have any bearing on the seat equations this time since both, the Shiv Sena and the NCP have split since then. In 2019, the undivided NCP contested 121 seats and won 54 while its alliance partner the Congress contested 147 but won only 44. This time, the Shiv Sena is also an alliance partner, asking for its share in the pie.


While the talks are still underway, sources within the NCP-SP say that they are keen on contesting between 90 and 115 seats given that the party is on the upswing with an influx of party leaders and workers. In the past few days, several senior party functionaries of Ajit Pawar-led NCP have met Pawar senior, promising support in various constituencies. NCP legislator from Phaltan, Deepak Chavan officially joined the NCP-SP taking along his supporters and party workers. Earlier this month, Harshvardhan Patil, who has a good hold over cooperatives, also returned to his parent party after a stint in the BJP.


With Pawar strengthening his chances in various constituencies, the party is set to get a boost during the seat sharing talks that are led by Jayant Patil.

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