People gave mandate to Mahayuti: Mungantiwar
Maharashtra may head for President’s rule if the new government in the state is not in place by November 7, Finance Minister and BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said on Friday.
His comments came even as there appeared no headway in government formation eight days after results of the October 21 Assembly elections.
The tenure of the existing Legislative Assembly ends on November 8.
Playing down on the tussle between BJP and Shiv Sena over cabinet berths, Mr Mungantiwar said the delay in talks between both the parties was due to the Diwali festival, adding parleys will start in a day or two.
“People of Maharashtra have given mandate not to any party but to the Mahayuti (alliance comprising BJP, Shiv Sena and other parties),” he said.
“Our alliance is stronger than Fevicol or Ambuja Cement,” he said.
Mr. Mungantiwar expressed confidence that the formation of a new government will take place soon.
NCP, Congress will sit in opposition, says Ajit Pawar
NCP leader Ajit Pawar has said his party and ally Congress will sit in the oppositioneven as the ruling BJP and the Shiv Sena remain engaged in tussle over government formation in Maharashtra.
Mr. Pawar said the people of the state have asked his party to sit in the opposition, as reflected in the election results, and it will do the same.
He made the remarks after a meeting of key NCP leaders at party president Sharad Pawar’s residence late night on Thursday.
Waiting for the government’s response on WhatsApp snooping row, says Priyanka
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said if the BJP or the government engaged Israeli agencies to “snoop” into the phones of journalists, lawyers, activists and politicians, it is a “scandal” with grave ramifications for national security.
Her remarks come after WhatsApp said that Indian scribes and human rights activists were among those globally spied upon by unnamed entities using Israeli spyware Pegasus.
If Shiv Sena wants, it can prove majority in Maharashtra, says Sanjay Raut
Senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday said that the party could form the government by majority (involving Congress-NCP) and that there would be a Sena Chief Minister in Maharashtra as that was what people wanted.
Mr. Raut reportedly met NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday, leading to intense speculation over the formation of a government.
On the one hand, there is no headway in the talks between the saffron allies, while on the other, Mr. Raut meeting Mr. Pawar has led to conjecture of a possible Congress-NCP-Sena alliance to form the government, keeping the BJP out of power. However, Mr. Raut had called his meeting Mr. Pawar a mere courtesy call and nothing more.
BJP questions Rahul’s foreign trips
The BJP on Thursday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should disclose details of his visits abroad and that it was a matter of public interest as he was a public representative. It also questioned his “frequent” foreign visits and the “secrecy” about those, asking if he was involved in some secret operation.
I am not politicising but socialising issues while meeting people: Tamilisai
Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundarajan says she is a social person, always positive in her outlook and as a Governor, she is not engaged in any political activity. “As a Governor I know my constitutional powers and I will act according to it only. Nothing is there that the Governor should not do or should do,” she said in an exclusive interview to The Hindu .
Desperate BJP adopting Sardar Patel, says Priyanka
As Congress leaders on Thursday took to social media to offer their respects to India's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 144th birth anniversary and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 35th death anniversary, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi accused the BJP of 'adopting' Congressman Patel as it didn't have its own freedom fighter.
“Sardar Patel was a stalwart of the Congress who was devoted to the ideology of the party. He was a close companion of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of the country, and was strongly opposed to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological mentor of the BJP,” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted in Hindi.
(With inputs from our Correspondents, agencies)
