Maharashtra NCP legislator quits, to join BJP
Mumbai, May 23: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) received a jolt on Wednesday when its Maharashtra legislator Niranjan Davkhare quit the party and his legislative council seat.
Davkhare, 39, the son of the late NCP leader Vasant Davkhare, will join the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other senior leaders, a party (BJP) spokesperson said.
A stunned NCP hit back this afternoon by suspending him from the party membership for a period of six years. The action came for his anti-party utterances and other grounds, said General Secretary Shivajirao Garje.
In a brief statement after submitting his resignation to NCP state President Jayant Patil, Davkhare said: "I am feeling very sad to leave the NCP. I had witnessed the birth and growth of NCP along with my father. But I am totally fed up with the local intra-party politics."
Davkhare also called on Legislative Council Chairman Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar and resigned from his MLC seat, to which he was elected in 2012, and barely a month ahead of the upcoming bye-polls to the upper house next month.
Among the closest aides of NCP President Sharad Pawar, Davkhare’s father ruled the roost in Thane for over 24 years as legislative councillor despite the fact that Shiv Sena ruled the Thane Municipal Corporation, and also functioned as Deputy Chairman of the Maharashtra Upper House.
The Election Commission has announced another round of elections to two Graduates and two Teachers Division constituencies in the upper house to be held on June 8.
The four retiring members are: Apoorva P. Hiray (BJP) from Nashik Division Teachers constituency, Kapil Patil (JD-U) of Mumbai Division Teachers constituency, Deepak Sawant (Shiv Sena) from Mumbai Division Graduates constituency and Davkhare from Konkan Division Graduates constituency.
However, presently it is not clear if Davkhare will be given a BJP ticket to contest the bypolls to the state legislature's upper House next month.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
