Eknath Shinde dismisses buzz of rift in Mahayuti
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has dismissed the speculation of a rift within the Mahayuti and said everything is hunky-dory in the ruling alliance.
The issues, if any, will be sorted out through discussions, Shinde told reporters on Sunday.
"There is no bickering within the Mahayuti. Everything is hunky-dory. We work and don't complain. We are the ones who fight," he said.
The Shiv Sena leader was reacting to reports that he has complained to Union Home Minister Amit Shah about Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
"If Eknath Shinde has to say something, he will directly talk to me or the chief minister (Devendra Fadnavis). We share good relations," Pawar told reporters.
Amid talk of Shinde raising contentious issues concerning the state's ruling alliance with Shah, BJP 's Sudhir Mungantiwar on Sunday also defended the Shiv Sena leader.
"Eknath Shinde is a good leader. He would not use such ways to raise complaints before Shah. Shinde is such a leader who will not wait and raise it with Amit Shah. He would directly speak with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar," Mungantiwar told reporters.
The ruling alliance comprises the BJP, Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP. It retained power after a landslide victory in the state assembly polls held in November last year.
Shinde, who was chief minister from June 2022, however, had to be content with the deputy CM's post in the Devendra Fadnavis-led government formed after the polls.
During his visit to Maharashtra on Saturday, Shah attended an event at Raigad Fort to mark the 345th death anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
NCP MP Sunil Tatkare on Saturday also hosted lunch for Shah at his house in Raigad, and described it as a "non-political" interaction with the issue of guardian ministers not on its agenda.
Local Shiv Sena leaders didn't attend the lunch, further fuelling speculation that all was not well in the BJP-led Mahayuti over the allotment of posts of guardian ministers in Raigad and Nashik.
Notably, Sunil Tatkare's daughter and NCP MLA Aditi Tatkare is one of the contenders for the post of the Raigad district guardian minister, but is facing opposition from Shiv Sena MLA Bharat Gogawale.
The Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government had to stay the appointment of Aditi Tatkare and BJP leader Girish Mahajan as guardian ministers of Raigad and Nashik and districts, respectively, in January this year due to opposition from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
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Grenade attack on Punjab YouTuber's house: Army jawan held for training main accused
Chandigarh, Apr 17 (PTI) An Army jawan posted in Jammu and Kashmir has been arrested for allegedly imparting online training to the man who hurled a grenade at the residence of a Jalandhar-based YouTuber last month, Punjab Police said on Thursday.
A court in Jalandhar sent the jawan, Sukhcharan Singh, to five-day police remand, police officials said.
The main accused, Hardik Kamboj, hurled the hand grenade at the house of YouTuber Rozer Sandhu on the intervening night of March 15 and 16. However, the grenade did not explode.
During the course of investigation, it came to light that Singh provided online training to Kamboj on throwing the grenade at the residence of the YouTuber, said Senior Superintendent of Police (Jalandhar Rural) Harvinder Singh Virk.
Singh came in contact with Kamboj through social media platform Instagram, police said.
Singh, who hails from Muktsar district, was named in the FIR and an arrest warrant was secured from a court, the SSP said.
Police said they apprised the Army authorities about Singh's role in the matter.
A court in Jalandhar sent Singh to five-day police remand. Further investigation in the matter is underway, they said.
Police have so far arrested nine people, including Kamboj, in this case.
Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti claimed responsibility for the attack at Sandhu's house over his use of alleged derogatory language against the Muslim community.
There have been many explosions targeting police posts in Amritsar and Gurdaspur in the past four to five months.
Last month, a blast occurred outside a temple in Amritsar.
A grenade blast took place at the residence of BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia in Jalandhar on April 8 but no one was hurt.
