Shiv Sena left with no option, has to form govt with BJP: Athawale
Shiv Sena has no option but to join hands with BJP to form government in Maharashtra under Devendra Fadnavis’ leadership, their ally and RPI(A) chief Ramdas Athawale said on Wednesday.
“There is no option left with the Shiv Sena now than to form government with the BJP under the leadership of Devendra Fadnavis,” the Union Minister of State for Social Justice said.
The people of Maharashtra have given the mandate to the BJP and the Shiv Sena to form government in alliance, Mr. Athawale said, wondering how the Sena can form government with 56 legislators. “If the Shiv Sena does not come with us then Fadnavis should move forward and stake claim to form government in the state,” he told reporters.
NCP-Congress front will sit in Opposition: Sharad Pawar
Hours after Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut met Sharad Pawar, the NCP chief reiterated that the party and its allies will sit in opposition.
"Sena and BJP are together for 25 years. We are confident that they will come together to form the government," Mr. Pawar said in Mumbai.
People have given us the verdict to sit in the opposition and we want Sena -BJP to form the government so that we can perform our opposition duty, he added.
Parliamentary panel to take up WhatsApp snooping case
A parliamentary standing committee headed by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor will take up the WhatsApp snooping case in its next meeting on November 20, sources said on Wednesday.
Two parliamentary panels headed by Congress leaders have decided to examine the WhatsApp snooping case and will seek details from top government officials including the Home Secretary.
Tharoor, who heads the parliamentary standing committee on information technology, said in a letter to his panel members that alleged use of the technology for snooping on Indian citizens was a matter of “grave concern” and it would be discussed at the Committee’s next meeting on November 20.
Raut meets Pawar
Amid the stand-off over government formation in Maharashtra, senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut met NCP chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Wednesday.
“This was a courtesy call,” Raut told reporters later.
Earlier, Mr. Raut on Wednesday claimed there was a “consensus” between the BJP and his party before the Maharashtra Assembly elections on sharing the chief minister’s post.
Amid the stalemate continuing over government formation in the state, Mr. Raut told reporters in Mumbai that no fresh proposal has been received from the BJP or sent to it.
To a question on when there would be a consensus on the chief minister’s post, the Rajya Sabha member said, “There was a consensus on the post before elections.”
Ruling out any new proposal for government formation, Mr. Raut reiterated that the Shiv Sena expects implementation of what was decided and agreed upon before the elections.
Sin to think Trinamool won’t win 2021 polls: Mamata
It will be a sin to think that the Trinamool Congress will not win in the 2021 Assembly election, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday. “If someone thinks that in 2021 our government will go, I tell them what they are saying is a sin. In the days to come, there will be the government of Maa , Maati and Manush. ”
Ms. Banerjee made these remarks at a function here to announce a revised pay-scale for teachers of State colleges and universities.
Ready to talk on govt. formation if Sena sends proposal: BJP
After days of suspense over reaching out to the Shiv Sena for formation of the next government in Maharashtra, the BJP on Tuesday said it was ready to negotiate as soon as its pre-poll ally sent its proposal.
The Opposition has made similar overtures to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) assured the Shiv Sena that it could provide an alternative for government formation if its support was sought. Mr. Pawar met Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Monday.
Chirag Paswan takes charge of Lok Janshakti Party
Key NDA ally, the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) heralded a generational shift, with 73-year-old Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan stepping down from the post of national president of the party in favour of his son and two-term MP Chirag Paswan, 37.
The LJP was founded in 2000 by Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, who walked out of the JD (U) following differences with Nitish Kumar and George Fernandes. This is the second dynastic baton change in a socialist party after Akhilesh Yadav replaced his father Mulayam Singh as president of the Samajwadi Party. However, in the latter case, Mr. Mulayam Singh and his brother Shivpal Singh Yadav had resisted the change.
Yediyurappa terms his 100 days in office agni pariksha
Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Tuesday termed his government’s first 100 days in office as an agni pariksha (trial by fire) as the period saw more than two-thirds of the State reeling from floods.
Speaking after releasing a 96-page booklet titled Dina Nooru, Sadanae Nooraru on the “achievements of the government” during its first 100 days, he said he was satisfied with his regime’s performance and adequate attention had been paid to handling rain relief works. A total of 103 taluks in the State were severely hit by floods during August-October.
