Never said "I will return": Thackeray taunts Fadnavis
Mumbai, Dec 1: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday taunted former CM Devendra Fadnavis over the latter's impassioned pre-poll "Me punha yein" (I will return) assertion which had evoked many social media memes.
Thackeray was speaking after Fadnavis, leader of state BJP legislature unit, was named the new Leader of Opposition in the House by Speaker Nana Patole.
Describing Fadnavis as a friend, Thackeray also said he does not view him as opposition leader.
"I never said I will come back, but I came in this House," Thackeray said during his congratulatory speech.
"I can assure this House and people of Maharashtra that I will not do anything at midnight. I will be working for the interests of the people," he said.
Thackeray's swipe was apparently about the early morning hush hush swearing in of Fadnavis as CM on November 3, along with NCP leader Ajit Pawar as deputy chief minister, after night-long dramatic political developments in Mumbai and Delhi.
Appealing to the House to minimise farmers' woes, Thackeray said, "The aim of this government is not only to waive farmers' loans but we also need to reduce his worries as well."
"Those who were in opposition for several years are now with me to form the government whereas friends (BJP) have gone away to sit on opposition benches in this House," he said.
The Shiv Sena chief said he has no hesitation in admitting his friendship with Devendra Fadnavis.
"I will not hesitate to admit that we have been good friends for a long time. Had you listened to us, I would have been sitting at home watching today's developments on TV," Thackeray said.
NCP minister Jayant Patil also targeted Fadnavis.
"He (Fadnavis) said he would return, but didn't say where he will sit (in the House)," Patil said.
"Now he has returned and is occupying this top post (of Leader of Opposition) which is of the same level as CM post," Patil said.
The NCP leader expressed confidence that Fadnavis won't be part of any efforts to dislodge the Thackeray-led government of the Sena-NCP-Congress combine.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Rupee falls 2 paise to near all-time low of 84.85 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee fell 2 paise to near all-time low of 84.85 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday on the back of foreign fund outflows and rising crude oil prices.
An elevated dollar index and muted domestic equity markets weighed on the Indian currency even as investors were awaiting cues from domestic inflation data to be released later in the day, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 84.85 against the greenback, registering a fall of 2 paise over its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee settled with a gain of 2 paise at 84.83 against the US dollar.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading marginally lower by 0.12 per cent at 106.26.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.12 per cent to USD 73.61 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading with a marginal gain of 53.59 points, or 0.07 per cent at 81,579.73 points. The Nifty inched up 2.10 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 24,643.90 points. Both the indices ended Wednesday's session with marginal gains.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,012.24 crore, according to exchange data.
