Politics

Senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said that they would hold another round of discussions later in the day following which a decision would be taken.

The BJP and its ally Shiv Sena are locked in a bitter tussle on sharing the chief minister's post, resulting in a stalemate over government formation in the state.

Accusing the Gandhis of violating the SPG security norms on several occasions, the BJP asked why the Congress was "crying" now.

He said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, also BJP legislature party leader, resigned and it shows the party cannot cobble up the numbers, adding that the Shiv Sena might be invited to form the government.

CM Mamata Banerjee's comment was an apparent answer to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement that Bengal is lagging behind in scientific and cultural development.

The disclosure by security agencies came after the government decided to withdraw the Special Protection Group (SPG) security cover of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka after a detailed assessment of their threat perception.

No party or alliance has staked claim to form government in Maharashtra after the Assembly poll result was announced on October 24.

Even three years after the demonetisation exercise, the country is facing its after-effects, Congress said.

Chandrakant Patil admitted it is taking "more than normal" time to forge a ruling alliance between the BJP and the Shiv Sena.

His counsels later said that this nullifies the disqualification order issued by the assembly speaker and Lodhi would continue to remain an MLA in the light of the order.

Sharad Pawar said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government should take a lesson from former Prime Minister and Congress veteran Manmohan Singh on how to put the economy back on track.

The HC also directed the government to keep the bodies of the Maoists at the Thrissur Government Medical College mortuary and produce documents, including post-mortem reports, before it.

The development came hours after Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil announced in Mumbai that a BJP-led government would be formed very soon, with Fadnavis as its leader.

In face of criticism from the opposition, government officials tried to justify the fresh loan saying liquidity was important to keep developmental and public welfare works afloat.

He claimed no other state had ever carried out relief work of this scale as officers, Ministers and MLAs worked beyond their limit to provide relief to the flood-affected.

Reacting to comments made by BJP leaders after a meeting of the party's state core team in Mumbai, Raut said imposition of President's rule will be an insult to people of Maharashtra.