Uddhav back in state secretariat after 2 yrs
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has started coming to the administrative headquarters at Mantralaya after a two-year hiatus. He is meeting various department staffers one after another and inquiring about their issues. He had not come to Mantralaya due to Covid-19 and later had a spine surgery. Thackeray generally likes to speak directly with people and not through speeches alone. But bureaucrats hardly mingle with people. Uddhav Thackeray wants to change their old style of functioning, such as remote control and entering electoral politics. He has started one-on-one interactions with government employees. He will soon start doing likewise with his party leaders and workers.
Rahul accepts Cong request to visit Mumbai
For quite some time now, Congress leaders in Maharashtra have been trying very hard to get Rahul Gandhi in Mumbai. But the Gandhi scion had no time for the state that has the second largest Lok Sabha seats as also the financial capital of India. Congress ministers put in their collective request in Delhi but hardly anyone considered it. In fact, interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi is more accessible than Rahul. However, the request of Maharashtra Congress leaders has finally been accepted by Rahul. He has agreed to inaugurate various Congress-initiated programmes in the state during his visit and boost the morale of party leaders and workers.
Sharad Pawar and Raj Thackeray lock horns
NCP chief Sharad Pawar has been in the line of fire of the BJP and the Raj Thackeray-led MNS for quite some time now. In his last two speeches, Raj spent considerable time mocking MVA ministers, including those from the NCP. That includes Pawar, Supriya Sule, state president Jayant Patil, Ajit Pawar and others. However, Pawar hasn’t lost any spirit to take on his opponents through his regular press conferences and speeches. He seems to be more active after the pandemic has subsided. He is actively travelling and telling people that the BJP is desperate to come back in power, which is why it is misusing Central enforcement agencies as a tool to go after its opponents.
Sudhir Suryawanshi
Our correspondent in Maharashtra suryawanshi.sudhir@gmail.com