Mumbai's next mayor will be 'Hindu-Marathi' and from ruling Mahayuti: Fadnavis
Mumbai (PTI): As political campaigning heats up for the city's top civic post, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Friday that the next Mayor of Mumbai will come from the ruling alliance and will be "both Hindu and Marathi."
His comments come as the push for the important Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections builds, with polling set for January 15 and results to be announced on January 16.
“The Mumbai mayor will be from the Mahayuti (BJP-led ruling alliance). The Mumbai mayor will be a Hindu and a Marathi person,” Fadnavis said, responding to a question.
The issue had snowballed after Mumbai BJP president Ameet Satam recently remarked that his party would not allow any "Khan" to become the city's mayor, triggering sharp reactions from the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
After uniting with Sena (UBT) chief and his cousin Uddhav Thackeray recently, MNS president Raj Thackeray had declared that "Mumbai's mayor will be Marathi, and he will be ours".
Fadnavis has now sharpened his party BJP's pitch by stating that Mumbai will have a Hindu and Marathi mayor, further intensifying the political sparring as campaigning for elections to the 227-member municipal corporation, India's biggest and richest civic body, gathers pace.
The BJP Chief Minister made the remarks while speaking to ‘Mumbai Tak’ news channel during an interaction, titled ‘Mahachavadi’, as he travelled on the city’s underground Metro line and answered questions on a range of political issues.
About a query concerning former state minister and his party colleague Kripashankar Singh’s reported comments about a north Indian becoming the mayor, the CM said, “Singh had not made the remark in the context of Mumbai. He is not even an official party spokesperson.”
Singh said on Wednesday that efforts would be made to ensure the election of a “north Indian and Hindi-speaking” mayor in the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
Elections to 29 municipal corporations in the state, including the BMC, will be held on January 15.
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India-bound LPG tanker clears Hormuz
New Delhi (PTI): A tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for India has sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz and is now headed towards the country, an official statement said on Sunday.
The Marshall Islands-flagged LPG carrier MT Sarv Shakti, loaded with 46,313 tonnes of LPG and staffed by 20 crew, including 18 Indians, cleared the key shipping chokepoint on May 2 and is expected to reach Visakhapatnam on May 13, it said.
The cargo -- enough to meet half a days requirement of the country -- will partly tide over supply constraints being faced since the start of the West Asia conflict more than two months back.
Ship-tracking data showed its position in Oman Gulf on Sunday evening.
The very large gas carrier has previously made runs between the Persian Gulf and Indian ports, has been chartered by state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
Sarv Shakti is the first India-linked tanker to cross the war zone since a weeks-old US blockade of ships tied to Iran began, pushing transits through Hormuz back down to almost zero.
There are as many as 14 Indian flagged or India-owned vessels still stranded on the west side of the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement said no incident involving Indian-flagged vessels has been reported in the past 24 hours. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is working closely with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian missions and maritime stakeholders to ensure crew welfare and uninterrupted operations.
The Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) control room has handled 8,373 calls and more than 17,965 emails since activation, including 38 calls and 127 emails in the last 24 hours.
India has also facilitated the repatriation of more than 2,953 seafarers so far, including 31 in the past day from across the Gulf region.
Port operations across the country remain normal with no congestion reported, the statement added.
