Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
IQBAL MIRCHI CASE: ED QUESTIONS RAJ KUNDRA MARRIAGE HAS GIVEN ME WINGS, SAYS PRIYANKA Fadnavisdeclares BJP-ShivSenato formgovtinMaha
POWER-SHARING PACT IN 3-4 DAYS Sena softens its stand over sharing CM’s post; likely to get more cabinet berths and key portfolios
MUMBAI: A power-sharing deal betweensaffronalliesBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena, before forming the Maharashtragovernment,isexpected to be finalised in the next threefourdays.Bothpartieshavebeen lockedinabittertussleoversharing power ever since they were re-elected in the October 21 Assembly elections.
“Formal and informal talks havealreadybegunandweareon the right track. Do not believe reports of disputes between us. They are rumours,” said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, after he was re-elected as the leader of the BJP’s legislative unitbynewly-electedMLAs.Fadnavis’s election also means he is the BJP’s nominee for chief minister.
“We are expecting talks to be completed in three-four days,” saidCMFadnavis.Fadnavisalso thanked Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in his address to BJP MLAsafterhiselectionaslegislative unit head.
A few hours after Fadnavis spoke, Sena MP Sanjay Raut hinted that his party was softening its stance.
“It will be better for the state if the alliance continues, but our respect should be maintained...theSenachiefwilltakea decision in the interest of Maharashtra,” he told media. He also refused to specify if the Sena would insist on equal sharing of power, including chief ministership. A top BJP leader also said thepartywillstakeclaimtoform thegovernmentonlyaftergetting its ally Sena on board.
Insidersfrombothpartiessaid a power-sharing deal is being worked out. The BJP is likely to offer a few more ministerial berthsandacoupleof keyportfolios to the Sena.
“Inthe outgoing government, BJP has 27 ministers, the Sena has 13 and smaller allies have three.Weareofferingafewmore ministerialberthsandacoupleof keyportfolios,”saidaseniorBJP leader.
Although the Sena was publicly insisting on equal share of power, including splitting the chiefministershipfortwo-and-ahalf years, the BJP has ruled it out.
Under the power-sharing formulathatisbeingworkedout,the BJP isofferingthepost ofdeputy chiefminister,15to17ministerial berths and key departments, such as public works, housing, agriculture and excise, said another BJP leader.
NEWDELHI: JusticeSharadArvind Bobde,whotakesoverasthenext ChiefJusticeofIndia(CJI)inalittleovertwoweeks,hasdescribed the January 12, 2018, press conference by the four senior-most judges at the time against then CJI Dipak Mishra as a “disturbing event” for the judiciary.
In an interview with HT, the CJI-designate,whowilltakeover a day after current chief justice Ranjan Gogoi retires on November17,saidmattershadimproved since last year and the relationship between judges was much better than before.
“Relationswereverypoorearlier,nowwehavemoreinformal get-togethers and communicationisopenbetweenthejudges,” justiceBobdesaid.Attheunprecedented January 2018 press conference, justices J Chelameshwar,Gogoi, Kurian Joseph and Madan Lokur aired their grievancesoverthen-CJIMisra’sstyle offunctioning. Hewasassigning importantcasestojuniorjudges, theysaid, addingthatthealleged lackoftransparencyintheselection of judges to try cases was a cause of “serious concern”.
MUMBAI: Hopes of fresh tax reforms and lower interest rates in the US kept up the market tempoforthefourthstraightday on Wednesday, with the benchmark Sensex closing above the 40,000 mark for the first time since June 4. The Sensex rose 220.03 points, or 0.55%, to 40,051.87, just215.75pointsshyof itsrecord40,267.62onJune3.The Nifty gained 0.49% to 11,844.10.
Amixedbagofquarterlyearnings performance and hopes of lower taxes raised hopes among investors. AjitMishra, vice-president of research at Religare Broking said, “Indian indices continuedtheirupwardtrendon thehopesofmoretaxsopsforthe equity markets.” He said in the near term, the market will be driven by corporate earnings and, thus, stock-specific volatility may remain high.