Aaditya Thackeray's core team member Rahul Kanal joins Shinde-led Shiv Sena
Mumbai, Jul 1: In a setback to Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, his close aide Rahul Kanal on Saturday joined the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and demanded a detailed probe into the Disha Salian death case.
Kanal, who was raided by the Income Tax department last year, was part of the core committee of Aaditya Thackeray-led Yuva Sena.
He joined Shiv Sena in the presence of Shinde, his son and MP Shrikant Shinde, and party MLAs.
Interestingly, Kanal's crossover to Sena came on a day Aaditya Thackeray led a morcha against alleged scams and corruption in the Mumbai civic body.
"Tomorrow if people say that I have joined you because of (actor) Sushant Singh Rajput or (his ex-manager) Disha Salian case....so I want to tell you with folded hands that please investigate it," Kanal said.
"If my name crops up then you can whip me with your shoes. There is a need for a detailed investigation and I can go anywhere for this," he added.
Kanal said, according to people, he got a lot from the party (Shiv Sena-UBT).
"Yes, it is 100 per cent right. But I have returned 1,000 per cent," he added.
Reacting to Kanal switching sides, Aaditya Thackeray, in a veiled barb at BJP, said those who want to jump into a "washing machine" can do that.
Notably, on June 13, Kanal wrote a birthday message for Aaditya Thackeray, saying, "It does not matter how many are against you. Those who are with you are wonderful".
The focus on Disha Salian's death returned after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said police were still recording statements and the case has not been closed.
Salian (28), former manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, allegedly committed suicide by jumping from a high-rise building in Malad area of Mumbai on June 8, 2020, a few days before Rajput's alleged suicide.
#WATCH | Maharashtra | Rahul Kanal, Yuva Sena leader and close aide of Uddhav Thackeray faction MLA Aaditya Thackeray joins Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in Mumbai. pic.twitter.com/gmx67GHTJ6
— ANI (@ANI) July 1, 2023
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Remove 20 per cent export duty on onions: Ajit Pawar to Centre
Nagpur (PTI): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday urged the BJP-led Centre to remove the 20 per cent levy on onion exports and provide relief to the grower of the bulbous vegetable.
In a letter to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Pawar highlighted the issues concerning farmers from Nashik district, where onion is grown in large quantities.
“The onions grown here (in Nashik) are available in other states of India and also exported in large quantities. As of today, onions from the summer yield have been exhausted and the fresh crop has reached various (Agriculture Produce) Market Committees in Maharashtra,” Pawar wrote.
Due to the arrival of a large stock of onions, farmers are now in distress as they are forced to sell their produce at a much lower rate since they have yet to receive any minimum support price, said Pawar. They are selling onions at an average of Rs 2,400 per quintal, he said.
Unseasonal rains and changing climate have already caused a huge dent in the earnings of onion farmers, wrote the NCP leader, who is currently in Nagpur for the Winter Session of Maharashtra's state legislature.
NCP is a partner of the BJP in the ruling Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra.
If they are further made to receive a rate less than the production cost, the onion farmers will incur a huge loss, said the deputy CM.
Onions from Maharashtra are in great demand abroad, he said. While Maharashtra is the largest onion-producing state in the country, Lasalgaon in the Nashik district has Asia’s largest wholesale market for it.
The Centre has levied a 20 per cent duty on the export of onions due to which the kitchen staple from the state loses its competitiveness in international markets, according to farmers.
The 20 per cent export duty on onions should be removed so that the farmers can heave a sigh of relief and recover some of their losses, Pawar wrote in the letter to Goyal.
