MAV’s pressure tactics works
CM Uddhav ’s chair appears to be safe now that the Election Commission has announced the date for Legislative Council polls. With Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari keeping the state Cabinet’s recommendation for nominating Uddhav to the Council from one of the two seats of his quota, first the Sena supremo rang up PM Modi and then, MAV leaders wrote separate letters to Koshyari asking him to write to the poll panel to conduct the elections for the Legislative Council. The governor finally relented.
Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and Milind Narvekardid not leave the Raj Bhavan till the governor sent the e-mail to the EC.
Congress prepares ‘exit plan’
Congress president Sonia Gandhi had instructed Maharashtra Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat to send weekly performance reports of the party’s ministers, district presidents and legislators. Despite the ongoing nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Thorat and his team have been engaged in several activities at government and party level.The Congress ministers are holding press conferencing using zoom app while Thorat himself is taking the stock of information. He had even asked former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan to prepare a lockdown exit plan, which has been submitted to the party brass and the state government. Thorat has also been holding regular meetings via zoom app with various party functionaries and elected representatives.
Trouble mounts for TV news channel
An FIR was registered against Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami on the charges of spreading communal hatred and malicious remarks against Congress president Sonia Gandhi. He was interrogated for 11 hours by Mumbai police recently. Now, his chief financial officer has been interrogated. The police have been probing financial funding, money trail and transactions of the channel apart from hatred comment and remark against Gandhi. Mumbai police is likely to hand over this case to Economic Offence Wing of the state government to find out the money trail behind the meteoric rise of the channel in a short duration.
Devendra Fadnavis rattled by troll army
The BJP has a strong presence on social media and its troll army has damaged the image of many Opposition leaders. Now, the party is getting a taste of its own medicine in Maharashtra. Former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is heavily trolled for any comment on Uddhav Thackeray’s government.
BJP leaders Chandrakant Patil and Ashish Shelar were forced to delete their video chat because of negative comments on their timeline. Fadnavis is concerned about his image and future as political leader.
Therefore, his close associate and party MLC Pravin Darekar met Mumbai police commissioner Parambir Singh demanding action against trolls who are allegedly tarnishing the image of Fadnavis on social media.