Page 5 - Devendra Fadnavis

Thoroughly investigate Cyrus Mistry's fatal accident: Maha govt to police

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said he has asked the state police to conduct a detailed investigation into the accident in which former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry was killed. Fadnavis said he was shocked and deeply pained to know about the demise of Mistry (54) in the unfortunate accident near Palghar adjoining Mumbai. "Spoke to DGP and instructed for detailed investigations," tweeted Fadnavis, who is also the state home minister. "My deepest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues," he said. Mistry was on Sunday killed after his car hit a divider in Palghar district. He was travelling from Ahmedabad to Mumbai in a Mercedes car, a police official said. The accident took place on a bridge over the Surya river, Palghar district Superintendent of Police Balasaheb Patil said.

Maharashtra focusing on solar, nuclear power generation: Dy CM Fadnavis

Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday informed visiting US senator Jon Ossoff that the state is increasing the use of solar power in the agriculture sector and also focusing on nuclear energy generation, officials said. Fadnavis's statement came on the backdrop of the Union government giving in-principle nod for setting up six nuclear power reactors at Jaitapur in Maharashtra with a total capacity of 9,900 MW. Ossoff, senator from Georgia, along with a delegation led by consul general Mike Hankey met Fadnavis here, said a statement by the Maharashtra government. Fadnavis also invited US firms to invest in Maharashtra in areas like energy, agriculture technology and skill development, the release added.

As Mumbai's underground Metro-3 trials start, Shinde-Fadnavis duo slam MVA

Flagging off the train trials for Mumbai's first underground Metro-3 line, CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM slammed the erstwhile MVA government, blaming it for the delays

Trial run of M'bai's Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro line 3 to be conducted today

The trial run of Mumbai's Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro line 3 will be conducted on Tuesday at Sariput Nagar in Aarey area, an official said. This marks an important development in the realisation of the Metro track shrouded in controversy. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis will attend the event. The Metro line 3, which will be a 33.5 km underground route, will connect Colaba in south Mumbai with the western suburbs. The construction of the Metro car shed at Aarey, a forested land adjoining the Sanjay Gandhi National Park was one of the first decisions reversed by the Shinde-Fadnavis government. Last month, former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had fervently appealed to the new government "not to stab Mumbai in its heart" by going ahead with the construction of the car shed at Aarey.

Congress a sinking ship, Azad raised valid issues during exit: Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said Ghulam Nabi Azad raised valid points while exiting the Congress which is a "sinking ship". Azad has resigned from all positions in the Congress, including its primary membership, by describing former Congress president Rahul Gandhi as "immature" and "childish" and accusing the leadership of "foisting a non-serious individual" at the helm of the party. Speaking to reporters at the Nagpur airport, Fadnavis said the Congress was a sinking ship and people who think the ship cannot be salvaged were taking different decisions. "I think some questions raised by Azad were valid. However, it is their internal matter and I will not comment on it," the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said. Azad, 73, who has been associated with the Congress for nearly five decades, also attacked party chief Sonia Gandhi for applying the "remote control model that demolished the institutional integrity of the UPA government" to the

Maharashtra to amend NDPS Act to make it more stringent, says Fadnavis

Maharashtra will amend the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and make it more stringent by making abetment a serious offence, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Thursday. He was speaking in the Legislative Council. Saying that the menace of psychotropic drugs is spreading like cancer, Fadnavis, who is also the home minister, said the government plans to conduct awareness programmes against drugs in a big way. Under the NDPS Act one needs to possess commercial quantities of drugs or consume drugs for it to be considered a crime, he said. We have decided to bring state amendments to the NDPS Act and it will not be restricted to consumption and possession alone. Abetment of crime will also be considered a serious offence. This will ensure that loophole in the NDPS Act is not misused, Fadnavis said.

Aarey car shed work started with Uddhav's nod, says Maha Deputy CM Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday claimed that 25 per cent of work of the Mumbai Metro car shed in Aarey Colony was completed after Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had given his approval. Speaking in the Legislative Council, Fadnavis also averred that no more trees will be cut for the car shed project, and said he was ready to apologise for the sake of Mumbai's people if someone felt it was a crime to cut trees at night. During Fadnavis's tenure as chief minister, his government's action of cutting trees in the leafy Aarey Colony here at night after the court's nod for the car shed had come in for criticism. Thackeray, after he became chief minister in 2019, shifted the Metro car shed site to Kanjur as environmental groups were opposed to tree felling for the project in Aarey area. In-principle approval for the project was given by the Congress-NCP government led by Prithviraj Chavan, Fadnavis said. When Fadnavis became chief minister, he met ...

Trying to get speedy presidential assent for Shakti Bill, says Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the state government will make all efforts to get the presidential assent speedily for the Shakti Bill that provides for stringent punishment for crimes against women. Replying to a debate in the Legislative Council, he said the state government had sent the Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment) Bill, 2020, to the President for assent earlier this year. The bill, inspired by the Disha Act of Andhra Pradesh and other similar laws, was passed by the state legislature in December 2021. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs asked for some information pertaining to the bill and the state Director General of Police will soon submit a report, Fadnavis said. While enacting special laws, some central laws are changed, hence such legislations are sent to eight central departments and scrutinized by the Law and Justice department to check whether they conform with Supreme Court and High Courts judgements, he said. I will

Wrong, unjust to felicitate accused in 2002 Bilkis Bano case: Fadnavis

The 11 convicts undergoing life sentences in the two decades old cases were set free on August 15, after spending 14 years in jail following an apex court order.

Current Maharashtra CM doesn't sit at home: Fadnavis' swipe at Uddhav

In a veiled swipe at Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said the current chief minister does not sit at home but tours the state and meets people. He also said the alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will win the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls. Thackeray was often accused by the BJP of not stepping out of Mumbai during his tenure as the chief minister (November 2019- June 2022) and mostly using his residence for meetings. Fadnavis said MLA Ashish Shelar was asked to take up the post of Mumbai BJP to ensure victory in the BMC polls and exuded confidence the latter will win the "match". "When the BMC polls took place last time with Shelar was Mumbai BJP president, the party won 82 seats (in the 227-member civic body in 2017). We were ready to install our mayor but took two steps back for our ally (Shiv Sena) and allowed them to have their ..

Would burst 'Handi' of corruption in BMC, says Devendra Fadnavis

Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said the BJP would soon "burst the Handi of corruption" in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The BJP leader was speaking at a Dahi Handi event in the city. The Mumbai civic body was controlled by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena before its term ended. The Sena has been in power in the BMC for more than 30 years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started breaking the Handi of corruption. We will also burst the Handi of corruption in the BMC," Fadnavis said. Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar on this occasion took a swipe at Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray who won the 2017 Assembly election from Worli in the city. I want to thank Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Fadnavis for relaxing all the restrictions on the celebration of Hindu festivals....not only in Worli, but in many parts of Mumbai you (Shiv Sena) have won elections because of our support," he said. This time the BJP's lotus will bloom on the BMC, .

Yacht found off Raigad coast belongs to Australian, no terror angle: Govt

A 16-feet-long yacht owned by an Australian woman drifted to Raigad coast near Mumbai, officials said on Thursday, but ruled out a terror angle after three AK-47 rifles were found aboard. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, informed the State Assembly that the vessel owner is an Australian woman whose husband was its captain. "As of now, there is no terror angle. But investigation is going on. We can't rule out any angle as of now. I am just sharing primary information, he added. Local police and the Anti-terror Squad are investigating the matter, he added. The yacht, which is four metres wide, was on way to Europe from Muscat in June when it drifted to inclement weather, he said. The Australian couple abandoned it after engine trouble, he added. Prima facie, there is no terror angle, but it is unclear why it was carrying arms, Fadnavis said, after Raigad legislator Aditi Tatkare sought a probe into the issue. A police official

Boat found with weapons off Raigad coast belongs to Australian: Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said the boat found with some semi-automatic weapons off the Raigad coast was owned by an Australian woman. The boat drifted due to the inclement weather and came to the Raigad coast, Fadnavis informed the state Assembly. The state home minister made the statement after NCP legislator Aditi Tatkare raised the issue in the House. "The boat found drifted off the Raigad coast is owned by an Australian woman. Some semi-automatic weapons have been found on it," he said. "Central agencies and the state police have started an investigation into the matter, he added. Earlier, a Coast Guard official said there was no security threat. According to officials, the crew members of this boat had been rescued in June this year near the Oman coast. It later drifted and grounded ashore, a Coast Guard official said. Some locals spotted the boat, having no crew member, in Shrivardhan area, located more than 190 km from Mumbai, and al

Everyone knows who the 'real CM' is: Aaditya Thackeray's dig at Shinde

In a searing attack on the Eknath Shinde-led government in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday said everyone knows who is the "real chief minister", apparently alluding to the clout of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP in the new dispensation. Taking a dig at the cabinet expansion, Aaditya Thackeray said the ministerial team has neither heard Mumbai's voice nor the voice of women or Independent MLAs. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde last week expanded his Cabinet, inducting nine MLAs each of the rebel Shiv Sena camp and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is supporting his government. No woman legislator or Independent was inducted in the Cabinet whose strength is now 20. The first 14 to 15 MLAs who aligned with Shinde when he revolted against the Shiv Sena leadership in June have not found a place in the Cabinet. So there is no place for loyalty, Aaditya Thackeray, a former minister, mocked while talking to reporters outside the state ...

Maharashtra: Fadnavis gets Home; Shinde to handle Urban Development

Another important portfolio - the Revenue Dept - has been given to BJP leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who had quit Congress a few months before the 2019 Assembly elections to join the saffron party

Tricolour is symbol of self-awareness: Fadnavis during 'Tiranga Padyatra'

"The tricolour is not just a flag, but a symbol of our 'atmabhan' (self-awareness). Our soldiers get inspiration from the tricolour while fighting for the country," Fadnavis said.

75% of Maharashtra's 'mini cabinet' ministers face criminal cases

The 18-member 'mini-cabinet' expansion of Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis have thrown up many facts, including 75 per cent of total 20 'crorepati' ministers have criminal cases lodged against them

No women in 20-member cabinet as Maharashtra CM expands 41-day-old ministry

No minister of state was sworn in today. There will be another ministry expansion later, an aide of Shinde said

Women will be inducted in Maharashtra Cabinet in next expansion: Fadnavis

Fadnavis said in Mumbai, There will be women in next cabinet expansion for sure. Earlier, people were critical of us for delay in the cabinet expansion, but now they have come up with something new

Maharashtra cabinet expansion before Aug 15; Fadnavis to get Home Ministry

Eknath Shinde is likely to expand his cabinet by inducting at least 15 ministers and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is expected to keep the crucial Home portfolio, sources said on Sunday.