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Ajit Pawar speaks: Takes to Twitter to thank PM Modi, ensures stable government in Maharashtra

OpIndia Staff
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Ajit Pawar speaks: Takes to Twitter to thank PM Modi, ensures stable government in Maharashtra

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister NCP’s Ajit Pawar today took to Twitter to thank Prime Minister Modi for congratulating him on taking oath as deputy chief minister of Maharashtra.


He also ensured a stable government “which will work hard for the welfare of the people of Maharashtra”. Pawar even tweeted his thanks to Home Minister and BJP President Amit Shah for his wishes.


Pawar also thanked other BJP leaders for extending wishes on his being made the deputy chief minister.

In a dramatic move on Saturday, the BJP staked claim to form the government with support of NCP’s Ajit Pawar and some other independent MLAs, thereby ending the President’s Rule. Fadnavis and Pawar took oath as chief minister and deputy chief minister of Maharashtra respectively early morning on Saturday. This happened within hours of Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray being announced the CM candidate for Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance in Maharashtra.

Read: Did Abhishek Manu Singhvi accidentally reveal the number of NCP MLAs supporting Ajit Pawar?

Following the dramatic turn of events, the Shiv Sena-NCP and Congress moved the Supreme Court questioning the legitimacy of forming the government. The SC today asked the Centre and State to give relevant documents about forming the government.

Leftist portals and politicians use a fight between Muslim students to peddle ‘minorities under attack’ narrative

OpIndia Staff
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Leftist portals and politicians use a fight between Muslim students to peddle ‘minorities under attack’ narrative

The mainstream media, as has become the norm, gave a communal twist to a fight between two groups in Mewar University, Rajasthan where there was no communal angle to it. Propaganda portals like ‘The Wire’ converted a case of fight between Muslim students into a case of atrocities on Muslim students.

Tahir Majeed, Bilal Ahmed, Ishfaq Ahmed and Mohammad Ali of Mewar University in Chittor district, filed a case against some other students at the Gangwad police station. They accused some students of Bihar of assault. Among the accused are three Muslim students from Bihar. However, media reports made it out as if it were a series of ‘continuous attacks on Kashmiri students’.

The Wire report on Mewar University fight

The Quint also based its report on the fake report published by The Wire and gave it a communal colour.


Soon, politicians, too joined in spreading the fake news.


This minor dispute was ended by the University Dean. After this, again a group of Kashmiri students started fighting. In response, students from Bihar also attacked and the two fought each other. It had nothing to do with his being a Kashmiri nor being a Muslim. According to Dainik Jagran’s report hundreds of Kashmiri students study at Mewar University and separate hostels have also been arranged for them. Other Muslim students are also housed in those hostels.

Read: Solicitor General cites OpIndia report in SC to debunk misleading report by IndiaSpend and The Wire on Kashmir

OpIndia contacted the Gangwad police station to find out the truth, where we learnt that the matter was not communal at all and neither were the students targeted for being Kashmiri. Gangwad police station made it clear that both sides are Muslims in this case, so there is no question of it being communal. The police categorically denied the report of The Wire, in which Bihari students have called Kashmiri students as terrorists. Police said that no one called Kashmiri students a terrorist during the quarrel. The Police termed it as a mutual dispute between students.

Mewar University also denied that the whole episode was communal. Talking to OpIndia, University Dean CK Sharma said that it is being misrepresented in the media. In reality, it was a matter of dispute between the students, which reached the police station. The Police told OpIndia that there was an argument between the students in the hostel mess about something and afterwards, it took a violent turn. While ‘The Wire’ quoted Bilal as saying that he was called a terrorist. The question arises that why wasn’t this mentioned in the FIR?

BHU Protests: Emeritus Professors of SVDV write to President Kovind, slam the appointment of Firoz Khan

OpIndia Staff
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BHU Protests: Emeritus Professors of SVDV write to President Kovind, slam the appointment of Firoz Khan

The matter of the appointment of Dr Firoz Khan, appointed in the literature department of the Faculty of SVDV (Sanskrit Vidya Dharma Vigyan) of BHU (Banaras Hindu University), has not yet settled. The students may have stopped their demonstrations but their agitation continues. The students led by Chakrapani Ojha, Shashikant Mishra, Krishna etc. submitted a memorandum to the PMO yesterday.

Now, two Emeritus Professors of SVDV, Prof. Reva Prasad Dwivedi and Prof. Kamlesh Dutt Tripathil have written a three-page letter to President Ramnath Kovind expressing their displeasure over the entire controversy. Both professors are well-known names in the field of Sanskrit and Religion and having served in the faculty for almost 50 years, have also held the posts of Head of Department and Dean.

Letter to President by BHU Professors

It is clear in the letter to the President that the provision of religious studies has been preserved till date since independence, in accordance with the spirit of BHU Act and protected by amendments by the Parliament. The religious education provided by the Faculty of SVDV is awarded only to students of Indian religions and faith to become Acharyas by traditional method. The letter has been signed by 50 other professors.

Letter to President by BHU professors

Professor Reva Prasad Dwivedi said, “It was absolutely wrong. Neither the Vice Chancellor is aware of the rules nor the Dean, Head of Department and Registrar. It is a question of religion. Students salute by touching the feet in the faculty, now they will hesitate. No one will come here to study.”

Letter to President by BHU professors

Based on the BHU Act-1915 and Amended Act 1951, the tradition has been going on in this faculty for almost 104 years where only Hindu, Sanatan schools, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs can participate in teaching and learning. If a non-Hindu teacher is appointed, the students of Shastri Acharya classes of religious rituals will be deprived of the roots of the tradition and the rule which has been in existence for more than a hundred years will be broken.

Read: BHU protests: Students of SVDV submit their demand to the PMO, want Firoz Khan’s appointment rescinded

Both Emeritus Professors of the Faculty of Religion say that the appointment of a Muslim teacher in the Religious Literature Department of this Faculty is against both the sentiments of religious education and the Kashi scholarly tradition and the Act and tradition of BHU. He has also requested the President to protect the dignity of the university and to get rid of this problem.

BHU executive will rethink

The controversy over the appointment of Dr Firoz Khan has been taken cognizance of by the Executive Council of BHU. Council members will also reconsidered the entire appointment process and its legality in an upcoming meeting. The members of the Executive Council said that this episode has made a mockery of BHU all over the world. In a conversation with OpIndia, BHU sources said that this is the first time in the history of the university during the tenure of VC Rakesh Bhatnagar when envelopes of appointments on academic posts were opened without placing them before the executive.

The Vice Chancellor Rakesh Bhatnagar had obtained prior consent from the Executive Council till 20 November, saying that he feared that if this was not done then the Ministry of Human Resources and UGC will lapse these posts, hence he asked to be given the right to appoint them without observing the formalities. He claimed that this has also happened in JNU. The same happened in the case of Firoz Khan, his interview took place on 5 November and he was given the appointment letter on 6 November. Seeing such haste, other appointments made by him in the university are also being questioned.

Maharashtra: Shiv Sena supporter attempts suicide after Uddhav Thackeray misses out on becoming CM

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: Shiv Sena supporter attempts suicide after Uddhav Thackeray misses out on becoming CM

A Shiv Sena supporter has allegedly attempted to end his life in Maharashtra’s Washim district after he was upset over party chief Uddhav Thackeray missing out on becoming the chief minister.

According to the reports, the incident took place on Saturday at Manora Chowk when Ramesh Balu Jadhav, a resident of Umari village in Washim, located around 580 km from Mumbai, came there for some work.

As Jadhav got the news that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the chief minister, an upset Jadhav inflicted several cuts on his hands with a blade, an official at Digras police station said.

Read: Maharashtra: Prof Zaheer Syed ‘went into a shock and fell sick’ after BJP forms government in state with Ajit Pawar’s support

Soon, a traffic policeman saw Jadhav slashing his hands with the blade and ran towards him and thwarted his suicide bid, the official said. The Shiv Sena supporter was soon rushed to a state-run hospital where he was undergoing treatment, he said.

“He was drunk and may have taken the step under the influence of alcohol,” the official said, adding that a probe was underway into the incident.

In a dramatic turn of events, BJP and NCP leader, Ajit Pawar’s faction formed an alliance in the state of Maharashtra on Saturday morning. While people slept, Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the Chief Minister and Ajit Pawar was sworn in as the Deputy CM.

The previous night, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut had announced that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had agreed to become the chief minister of Maharashtra. But before they could make the next move, the tables had turned and BJP had already formed the government when they slept.

Maharashtra: SC asks Centre, State Govt to produce letters of support given to Devendra Fadnavis by 10:30 am tomorrow

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: SC asks Centre, State Govt to produce letters of support given to Devendra Fadnavis by 10:30 am tomorrow

Hearing a petition on the issue of formation of the government by the BJP in Maharashtra, the Supreme Court on Sunday has asked the Centre to produce supporting documents given to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis by NCP MLAs to form government in the state.

Reportedly, the SC has also sought records of correspondence between the Governor and the Centre regarding revocation of President’s Rule. The documents are to be placed before the Supreme Court by 10.30 am tomorrow, when the court convenes on Monday morning. Appearing for the Centre, the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said to the court that he can get records from Governor’s Office but that would needed some time.

The apex court will pass the appropriate order after that.

Read: Did Abhishek Manu Singhvi accidentally reveal the number of NCP MLAs supporting Ajit Pawar?

On Sunday, the Supreme Court of India heard the petition related to the ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra. The matter was heard by the SC Bench of Justices NV Ramana, Ashok Bhushan, and Sanjiv Khanna.

Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader and advocate Kapil Sibal while appearing for Shiv Sena in the Supreme Court today had said that the apex court should order floor test today itself and let the BJP prove its majority in the assembly.

“If they don’t, let us stake the claim,” he said. Referring to Maharashtra governor’s move to invite the BJP to form government early morning on Saturday as ‘malafide’, Sibal said, “When somebody had announced at 7 pm that we are forming the government, the act of Governor is biased, malafide, contrary to all laws established by this Court.”

Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said in a situation like this, the Governor must satisfy himself with a written document which bears signatures. “The Governor should also seek a physical meeting. However, he did not do anything like that.”

Sibal was appearing for Shiv Sena in the apex court on the joint plea filed by the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress against the Governor’s decision to invite Devendra Fadnavis to form the government.

The Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena demanded that the BJP should immediately face a floor test if it has the numbers. The parties also accused Maharashtra Governor BS Koshyari of bias and said the lifting of President’s Rule was “shrouded in mystery”.

On Saturday, the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress had filed a joint plea in the Supreme Court challenging the government formation in Maharashtra where Governor Koshyari invited Devendra Fadnavis to form the government.

In a massive political coup, the BJP and NCP leader, Ajit Pawar’ faction formed an alliance in the state of Maharashtra on Saturday morning. While people slept, Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the Chief Minister and Ajit Pawar was sworn in as the Deputy CM.

The previous night, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut had announced that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had agreed to become the chief minister of Maharashtra. But before they could make the next move, the tables had turned and BJP had already formed the government when they slept.

Did Abhishek Manu Singhvi accidentally reveal the number of NCP MLAs supporting Ajit Pawar?

OpIndia Staff
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Did Abhishek Manu Singhvi accidentally reveal the number of NCP MLAs supporting Ajit Pawar?

Senior Congress leader and advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi seem to have inadvertently disclosed the total number of NCP MLAs who are supporting Ajit Pawar in forming the government with the BJP in Maharashtra.

The Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress party filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Governor’s decision to permit Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar to be sworn in as Chief Minister and Deputy CM respectively. It was also demanded that the Supreme Court order the floor test to be conducted today.

According to ANI, during the hearing, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the NCP, appears to have unwittingly made public the number of its MLAs who are supporting Ajit Pawar on the matter. He said, “How come Ajit Pawar becomes the Deputy CM with the support of only around 42-43 seats? It is the murder of democracy.”


However, other platforms that were tweeting about the proceedings had a completely different take on what Singhvi said.

According to Bar and Bench, Singhvi said that 41 MLAs have signed the letter removing Ajit Pawar from his post. According to the Bar and Bench, Singhvi said: “How can Ajit Pawar be Deputy CM when 41 NCP MLAs have said that ‘we are with NCP and we don’t recognise him as NCP leader anymore'”.


Hence, if we go by ANI’s version, it would appear that Singhvi slipped up and declared that 42-43 MLAs are supporting Ajit Pawar. However, if we go by Bar and Bench, the story is completely different.

It is, however, still telling, even if we go by Bar and Bench version. Several media houses had constantly reported yesterday that out of 56, over 50 MLAs had attended the meeting summoned by Sharad Pawar. However, if we go by Bar and Bench version of what Singhvi said, it would appear that 15 MLAs were not even present at the meeting and we can safely assume that these 15 are supporting Ajit Pawar.

Read: Maharashtra: Prof Zaheer Syed ‘went into a shock and fell sick’ after BJP forms government in state with Ajit Pawar’s support

Interestingly, on Saturday, it was claimed by the NCP that Ajit Pawar had been removed as the CLP of the party and he was replaced by Jayant Patil. However, there appears to be some confusion regarding the matter since it is being claimed that Sharad Pawar did not have the requisite numbers to removed Ajit Pawar as the CLP. BJP’s Ashish Sehlar has called Jayant Patil’s appointment as invalid.

Under such circumstances, the alliance of convenience between the three parties appears to be on thin ice. However, it remains to be seen how things pan out in the coming days.

Note: This story has been updated with additional information

92-year-old Sr Adv Keshav Parasaran and other lawyers who represented Ram Lalla in SC get a hero’s welcome in Ayodhya

OpIndia Staff
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92-year-old Sr Adv Keshav Parasaran and other lawyers who represented Ram Lalla in SC get a hero’s welcome in Ayodhya

On Saturday, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad held a grand felicitation ceremony at Karsewakpuram in Ayodhya to honour 41 lawyers, including veteran Supreme Court lawyer Keshav Parasaran who represented Ram Lalla and the Hindu parties in Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case.

According to the reports, the event led by Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, head of the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Sadhvi Ritambhara was organised to felicitate lawyers who fought for the cause of Ram Mandir.

The celebratory event, a first by VHP after the November 9 Supreme Court verdict, saw some emotional scenes as VHP karyakartas and priests showed their respects to the 92-year-old lawyer Keshav Parasaran. VHP leader Sadhvi Ritambhara applied ’tilak’ on Keshav Parasaran, who had led the team of lawyers in the courtroom battle.

On the request of saints, Parasaran also recited a few verses from the Ramayan. Parasaran’s description of an impromptu dance by monkeys outside his Delhi home after verdict won the hearts of VHP activists and attendees.

Senior Supreme Court lawyers CS Vaidyanathan, additional solicitor general of the Government of India Vikramjeet Banerjee, lawyers PV Yogeswaran and Madan Mohan Pandey and former high court judge Kamleshwar Nath were also felicitated. The VHP also felicitated family members of karsevaks who died in police firing in Ayodhya on October 30, 1990.

Read: My last wish before I die is to see a logical end to this case: Ram Lalla’s 92 year old lawyer

Champat Rai, international vice president of the VHP, informed the gathering that Parasaran used to keep standing in court for four hours at a stretch during the hearing of the case in the last 40 days.

“Everyday, Parasaran ji would spend four-five hours in the court. He would stand as the case was of Lord Ram. These lawyers took off their shoes in the courtroom during the hearing, such was their respect for God,” said Ritambhara.

Ritambhara went to the makeshift temple at Ramjanbhamoomi and worshipped Ram Lalla. Earlier in the day, K Parasaran along with his family members, including son Mohan Parasaran, had paid obeisance to Ram Lalla at the makeshift Ram temple.

The VHP karyakartas cheered and raised Peaceful slogans of ‘Jai Siya Ram’ and ‘Jai Shri Ram’ as each lawyer was garlanded and gifted a framed photograph of the proposed Ram temple. Before leaving for the temple, Parasaran and his family members took a holy dip in the River Sarayu.

On November 9, in a historic judgement ending a dispute spanning centuries, the Supreme Court of India handed over the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri masjid land to the Hindu parties, making way for Hindu devotees to have a grand Ram Mandir at the birthplace of Lord Ram.

The Apex court also ordered the union government to provide 5 acres of land at an alternate site at a prominent location in Ayodhya to the Sunni Waqf Board to rebuild the Babri Masjid which was demolished in 1992.

Let there be floor test today, let BJP prove its majority: Congress leader Kapil Sibal appearing for Shiv Sena in Supreme Court

OpIndia Staff
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Let there be floor test today, let BJP prove its majority: Congress leader Kapil Sibal appearing for Shiv Sena in Supreme Court

Senior Congress leader and senior advocate Kapil Sibal while appearing for Shiv Sena in the Supreme Court today said that the apex court should order floor test today itself and let the BJP prove its majority in the assembly. “If they don’t, let us stake the claim,” he said. Referring to Maharashtra governor’s move to invite the BJP to form government early morning on Saturday as ‘malafide’, Sibal said, “When somebody had announced at 7 pm that we are forming the government, the act of Governor is biased, malafide, contrary to all laws established by this Court.”

Sibal was appearing for Shiv Sena in the apex court on the joint plea filed by the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress against the Governor’s decision to invite Devendra Fadnavis to form government.

In a ruthless move, BJP and NCP leader, Ajit Pawar’ faction formed an alliance in the state of Maharashtra on Saturday morning. While people slept, Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the Chief Minister and Ajit Pawar was sworn in as the Deputy CM. The previous night, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut had announced that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had agreed to become the chief minister of Maharashtra. But before they could make the next move, the tables had turned and BJP had already formed the government when they slept.

The Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress filed a joint plea in the Supreme Court challenging the government formation in Maharashtra where Governor Koshyari invited Devendra Fadnavis to form the government.

 

Delay in decision making and insistence on ‘secularism’ cost Congress formation of government in Maharashtra

OpIndia Staff
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Delay in decision making and insistence on ‘secularism’ cost Congress formation of government in Maharashtra

As the political drama has begun in the state of Maharashtra, the Congress party leadership has been under fire from political commentators and supporters for the deliberate delay and reluctance to decide on the government formation in Maharashtra.

Reportedly, the delay by the Congress party in giving a green signal to the Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP coalition seems to have given BJP all time to pull off a massive political coup. Apart from the internal rebellion that NCP was facing all along, the inefficiency in the Congress party to take swift and effective decisions seems to have hampered party’s chance to form the government in the state.

The reluctance on part of the Congress party to decide on the issue of government formation began after Sonia Gandhi expressed hesitation to join hands with Shiv Sena claiming that the ‘hardline Hindutva’ views of Sena were contradictory to Congress’s “secular values”. The discussions got held up after Sonia Gandhi got concerned about the impact of such a coalition on the party in other states. However, she was finally persuaded to change her mind by the position taken by state MLAs. There were rumours making rounds that the Congress lobby in Kerala wasn’t too happy with the ‘secular’ Congress joining hands with Shiv Sena.

Read: Maharashtra Tragicomedy intensifies: Sharad Pawar meets PM Modi, leaves Congress upset, Shiv Sena does a Kejriwal

It was this fear and doubt that protracted negotiations by Congress on forming the government with Shiv Sena. The Congress party from the start kept NCP in the front to talk to Shiv Sena because it did not want to be surprised and left stranded after siding with a ‘hardline Hindutva party’.

The talks formally began first between Congress and NCP and later with Sena. NCP leader Sharad Pawar had initially been quite non-committal on joining hands with Shiv Sena. The focus was on drafting a common minimum programme, with contentious issues like Sena’s demand for a Bharat Ratna for Savarkar being addressed. According to a senior Congress leader, Sonia Gandhi wanted all the issues resolved before formally agreeing to the alliance, including the CMP and the splitting of all posts and portfolios to avoid conflicts later.

Reportedly, Sharad Pawar, anticipating a political coup, had met Sonia Gandhi to discuss the possibility of such a move by the BJP. However, the doubts stayed. Incidentally, the Congress Working Committee discussed these apprehensions at their meeting on November 11 where everyone appeared ready but also suspicious of the Sharad Pawar.

Read: Here is the timeline of the midnight coup that led to BJP and Ajit Pawar forming the Maharashtra government

Finally, the Congress party decided to hold talks with the NCP over a ‘common minimum programme’. The CWC met twice in the span of 15 days, which itself is no ordinary matter. The CWC had expressed many reservations on both occasions, on November 11 and November 21, regarding the final modalities of the coalition.

The Congress insisted on inserting “secularism” and “constitution” in the joint declaration of the NCP-Congress-Sena while announcing the coalition. The party even objected to the nomenclature of the alliance – ‘Maha Shiv Aghadi’ suggested by Sena, and they settled for ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’.

As per reports, it was only by November 20 that Congress agreed to be part of the alliance. Then, Congress insistence on the Speaker’s post led to further discussions. NCP and Congress took their own time to negotiate a sweet deal for themselves before zeroing in on Uddhav Thackeray for Chief Minister.

However, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel has denied the allegations of Congress dragging its feet. “This is baseless. Sena’s proposal came to us on November 11 and we came to Mumbai the very next day. All our meetings were on schedule. Finalising coalitions take time.” As Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the CM of the state, Ahmed Patel said that the reason this has happened is not due to delays by Congress but because some people left NCP.

Maharashtra: Prof Zaheer Syed ‘went into a shock and fell sick’ after BJP forms government in state with Ajit Pawar’s support

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: Prof Zaheer Syed ‘went into a shock and fell sick’ after BJP forms government in state with Ajit Pawar’s support

It is not only the politicians who went into a tizzy after BJP sprung a surprise and formed a government early morning on Saturday, hours after Shiv Sena had announced Uddhav Thackeray will be the chief minister of Maharashtra. One professor Zaheer Syed, who teaches English at a college in Gadchandur, some 43 kms away from Chandrapur in Maharashtra, ‘fell sick’ after the unexpected twist in the Maharashtra political drama.

As reported by news agency PTI, after he woke up and saw the news that Devendra Fadnavis has sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Syed ‘went into a shock’ and ‘fell sick’. He then applied for leave in college but the same was rejected by college.

Read: BJP has shown ruthlessness in the game of power politics, and it is good for ideology too

In a ruthless move, BJP and NCP leader, Ajit Pawar’ faction formed an alliance in the state of Maharashtra on Saturday morning. While people slept, Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the Chief Minister and Ajit Pawar was sworn in as the Deputy CM. The previous night, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut had announced that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had agreed to become the chief minister of Maharashtra. But before they could make the next move, the tables had turned and BJP had already formed the government when they slept.

The Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress filed a joint plea in the Supreme Court challenging the government formation in Maharashtra where Governor Koshyari invited Devendra Fadnavis to form the government. The apex court is scheduled to hear the plea at 11:30 AM.

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