President's rule in Maharashtra a 'scripted act', alleges Shiv Sena
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Thursday alleged that imposition of President's rule in Maharashtra was a "scripted act" and took a jibe at the governor, saying he has now given parties six months to form government.
It also said that former state chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is shedding "crocodile tears" over the imposition of President's rule as power is still indirectly in the hands of the BJP.
Criticising the governor for giving the Shiv Sena just 24 hours to stake claim and refusing it additional time to muster numbers, an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana' said, "It looked like some invisible power was controlling this game and decisions were taken accordingly."
President's rule was imposed in the state on Tuesday after Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari sent a report to the Centre, stating that formation of a stable government was impossible in the current situation despite all his efforts.
The Sena alleged that protocol was not followed when it went to the Raj Bhawan to seek more time to stake claim for government formation.
The governor waited for the term of the 13th Assembly to end. Had he initiated the government formation procedure earlier, his action of recommending President's rule would have looked "ethically correct", the Marathi publication said.
"The governor is so kind that he has now given us six months," it said in sarcastic remarks. "In fact, the imposition of President's rule was a scripted act. It was already decided," the Sena alleged.
The governor was earlier an RSS worker and served as chief minister of Uttarakhand. But Maharashtra is a grand state in terms of geography and history, it noted.
"When the governor denies 48 hours (to stake claim), then people would think something is wrong with the way he is acting," the Uddhav Thackeray-led said. The Shiv Sena said after the imposition of President's rule, Fadnavis termed it as an "unfortunate" development. Had Fadnavis condemned the decision of President's rule, then it could have been said his intentions were true, the Sena opined.
"The former chief minister has expressed concern on whether President's rule would impact investments in Maharashtra. Fadnavis is shedding crocodile tears. If someone is shedding crocodile tears over Presidents rule in the state, it is a farce," the editorial said.
With President's rule, the power is still indirectly in the BJP's hands, it said, adding that those who demitted office "look happy" with this decision.
The BJP and Shiv Sena, which fought the October 21 state polls in alliance, secured a comfortable majority by winning 105 and 56 seats, respectively, in the 288-member Assembly.
But the BJP did not cede the Sena's demand of sharing the chief minister's post, leading to falling apart of the nearly three-decade-old alliance.
The Congress and NCP won 44 and 54 seats, respectively, in the last month's polls.
After the imposition of President's rule in the state, the Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP leaders on Wednesday held hectic parleys to work out a 'common minimum programme' for government formation.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
