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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Shinde ‘feasts’ on Thackeray’s party

AI generated image Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (UBT)’s worst fears proved true on Thursday when six suspected ‘turncoat’ MPs failed to attend its crucial parliamentary party meeting in New Delhi – signaling another ‘split’ in four years – and posing a serious challenge to ex-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership and credibility. The crucial parliamentary party meeting saw only three (out of total 9) Lok Sabha MPs – Arvind Sawant (Mumbai South), Anil Desai (Mumbai South-Central) and...

Shinde ‘feasts’ on Thackeray’s party

AI generated image Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (UBT)’s worst fears proved true on Thursday when six suspected ‘turncoat’ MPs failed to attend its crucial parliamentary party meeting in New Delhi – signaling another ‘split’ in four years – and posing a serious challenge to ex-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership and credibility. The crucial parliamentary party meeting saw only three (out of total 9) Lok Sabha MPs – Arvind Sawant (Mumbai South), Anil Desai (Mumbai South-Central) and Rajabhau Waje (Nashik) – in attendance as per a whip issued two days ago, when the so-called ‘Operation Tiger’ was in advanced stages. At the tense meeting, with their eyes trained on the doors, they waited for over an hour for their six LS colleagues - Sanjay Dina Patil (Mumbai North East), Nagesh Patil Ashtikar (Hingoli), Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani), Omprakash Nimbalkar (Dharashiv), Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal-Washim) and Bhausaheb Wakchaure (Shirdi) – who never turned up. Emerging from the meeting the ruffled trio of Raut, Sawant and Desai confronted the huge crowd of media-persons and announced what was already public knowledge – that the SS (UBT) was breaking again. A tense Sawant somehow managed to smile and said that since the 6 MPs have defied the party whip, they would face the appropriate consequences. “We have followed the procedures and sent them individual show-cause notices, seeking their replies within a week,” he said. Raut said that if they fail to reply to the show-cause notices, then the party will initiate the necessary proceedings – in the Parliament, the courts and the streets. Operation Tudva In a raging mood, Raut warned that the SS (UBT) workers will ‘teach’ all the six MPs a lesson and now the party had launched a counter ‘Operation Tudva’ – akin to a similar initiative implemented successfully by the (undivided) NCP in 2019. “They are unscrupulous, unprincipled traitors. We have been told that they have taken huge sums of money to break away from our party. They took Rs 15-cr. to board the chartered aircraft two days ago, and yesterday again took Rs 10-cr to go to an undisclosed destination in Rajasthan,” claimed Raut, his outburst splattered with expletives for the second day. He reiterated his demand that “if all the six MPs first resign from their seats and contest elections afresh, we shall not label them as traitors”, even as Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar alleged that each MP reportedly stood to make Rs 85-cr, plus more through other means. Threatening MPs Angry Shiv Sainiks burnt effigies of all the MPs in their respective constituencies and threatened of physical attacks or their properties, prompting the state government to accord them Y-Plus category security as per a wireless directives issued by the State Commissioner of Intelligence Shirish Jain today. Indicating deep fissures, the absence of the six MPs pointed to the likelihood of them officially preparing to align with the Shiv Sena led by Deputy CM Eknath Shinde marking success of the ‘Operation Tiger’. Yesterday, the rebels had called on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and submitted a letter seeking to be recognized as a separate parliamentary group. The SS (UBT) also met the Speaker yesterday to submit a counter-letter and urged him to refrain from according any recognition to the breakaway group, and stick to the laws and Constitutional norms. However, if the Speaker accepts the rebels’ plea, it could formalize the impending ‘split’ and prove a huge setback for the SS (UBT). Eknath Shinde gets the “lion’s share” of SS (UBT) Prowling stealthily and effectively Shiv Sena President and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde ostensibly masterminded the ‘Operation Tiger’ and took away the lion’s share of 6 (out of 9) MPs from his bete-noire, ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) – for the second time in 4 years with lot of symbolism attached to the political man-hunt. Though party sources remained tight-lipped, it is learnt that Shinde’s ace team of political and legal advisors have gone through all the nitty-gritties, all the possibilities, the fallout in Parliament, the courts and the streets, before giving the green signal to strike at Thackeray’s party. On the next course, a party leader said that “only Shinde-ji has the authority” to decide and speak on this”, and he may well have some new aces up his trademark white-shirt sleeves in the coming days.

SC allows BJP govt to withdraw cases against Centre, LG in AAP regime

  • PTI
  • May 23, 2025
  • 2 min read


New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Delhi government to withdraw seven cases filed by the erstwhile AAP government against the Centre and Lieutenant Governor over issues including the control over services in the capital.


A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih took note of the submissions of Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the BJP-led government, and allowed the plea.


After a lawyer raised the issue of non-payment of dues to advocates representing the previous government, Bhati assured the bench that it would be taken care of.


On May 22, the seven bitterly-contested cases filed by the erstwhile AAP-led Delhi government against the Centre and the LG were sought to be withdrawn from a bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh.


Bhati referred to the plea saying the seven cases pending in the top court challenged the authority of LG in several committees, including solid waste management, Yamuna River cleaning and against the validity of Acts and ordinances.


"These matters should not trouble this court anymore," she said.


The previous AAP-led Delhi government was involved in a bitterly fought legal battle in the top court over the powers including control over services in the national capital.


The top court in July, 2023 sought a response from the Centre on the then AAP government's plea challenging the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) (Amendment) Act, 2023 which created an authority for transfer and posting of Group-A officers in Delhi.


The Act, initially an ordinance, came a week after the Supreme Court handed over the control of services in Delhi excluding police, public order and land to the elected government.


It envisages to set up a National Capital Civil Service Authority for the transfer of and disciplinary proceedings against Group-A officers from the Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli (Civil) Services (DANICS) cadre.


Another such case was against a decision of the NGT, which was stayed in July 2023 by the top court.


The NGT order of January 19, 2023 asked LG to head a high-level committee constituted to deal with issues concerning Yamuna rejuvenation.


The NGT constituted the high-level committee of authorities concerned in Delhi, where pollution of Yamuna was higher (about 75 per cent) when compared to the other river basin states.


Other cases included a challenge to the alleged non-release of sanctioned funds for the Delhi Jal Board for the financial year 2023-2025 by the Finance Department of GNCTD; re-declaration that the LG of Delhi is bound by the aid and advice of the council of ministers of the GNCTD and directions for appointment of the chairperson of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC).


The Delhi government also sought to withdraw the challenge to orders issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the LG with respect to release of payments to advocates appointed by the ministers without the concurrence of the LG of Delhi and the appointment of advocates on record (AoRs) and advocates in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court.

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