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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) likely to struggle to keep flock together

Writer: Aditi Pai
Aditi Pai
Nov 26, 2024
2 min read

Updated: Nov 29, 2024

Heavyweight leaders who joined the party on the eve of the polls might start getting impatient soon

NCP

Mumbai: The sparkling showing at the Lok Sabha polls catapulted the NCP (SP) into the league of one of the most sought-after parties in the state. More than 20 senior leaders were welcomed into the fold, some invited by the party and other, wanting a safe seat after indications that they may be denied a nomination from the respective parties. Some of the most prominent among them are Harshvardhan Patil, Sandeep Naik and Samarjeet Ghatge. All are influential politicians who carry political heft. The party was banking on them to win their constituencies effortlessly. Surprisingly, all three lost. Keeping them with a routed and splintered party will be a challenge for Sharad Pawar.


Of these three, Patil and Ghatge began their electoral careers as independent candidates, moving into parties later. With their own fiefdoms and cadre in place, they are less reliant on the party structure and workers. Patil, for instance, was elected to the state assembly for three terms as an Independent and joined the Congress only later. He quit the Congress to join the BJP and then moved to the NCP (SP) on the eve of the polls. The party had hoped to capitalise on Patil’s hold over cooperatives in Indapur given his years of experience and his tenure as a minister for cooperatives. Similar is the case of Ghatge, who made a mark in politics without any party’s support system. Hailing from an erstwhile noble family with huge land reserves and businesses that employ a few hundreds, Ghatge inherited considerable influence in Kagal from his father. The BJP, who didn’t have a strong face in the area, had inducted him and given him a position of power. In a grand gathering, he joined Pawar’s party earlier this year with an eye on a nomination from Kagal. But they lost. With Naik, he effortlessly moved across parties without batting an eyelid.


Ideology and loyalty to a party have taken a backseat in recent times. As a member of the NCP (SP) says: “These are opportunistic inductions from both sides. We saw winnability in them and they saw an opportunity especially after the Lok Sabha polls. Keeping them in the party will be a challenge especially since their own local influence outweighs the party’s spread in that area.” Interestingly, all three big leaders have left the winning side to join the NCP (SP); all three were in the BJP. As they see their former colleagues get ministerial portfolios or plum positions in state boards, it might be difficult to keep them back. “The future of the NCP (SP) is currently hanging in balance; we don’t have a roadmap for re-building the party right now. It will take us time to analyse this defeat and plan the way ahead. We don’t know how many of these leaders will continue to be with us,” says a senior party member.


The exodus may not happen immediately for fear of getting a tag of being opportunistic. But with elections to local bodies likely to be held in the coming months, their next move will be worth watching.

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