Year-ender 2020: A year of Uddhav Thackeray government, controversies and decisions

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. File Pic

On November 28 last year, the scion of the Thackeray family, Uddhav Thackeray, took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Amidst a lot of uncertainties over the survival of a coalition government with different political opinions and a tussle with a friend-turned-foe BJP, Thackeray managed to keep a balancing act. Although the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government has had its share of controversies, it managed to make some historic decisions, let's dive in:

Transfer of Bhima Koregaon violence case to NIA

A Sessions Court in Pune on February 14 passed an order in the Bhima Koregaon case, transferring all records and further proceedings of the case to Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court, Mumbai. Although Thackeray later said his government will not hand over the probe in the Koregaon-Bhima violence case to the Centre, it gave in and the case was shifted to the NIA.

Sharad Pawar had said that the Maharashtra government's alleged decision to transfer the Bhima-Koregaon case to the Centre is "constitutionally wrong" as the investigation of crime falls under the state's jurisdiction.

Thackeray's nomination to Legislative Council

Uddhav Thackeray took oath as a member of the Legislative Council after he was elected unopposed to the legislature. Thackeray was chosen as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra in November but he was not a member of either of the Houses in the state legislature.

His election to the legislature came after weeks of uncertainty when he finally dialed up Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention to conduct the MLC elections.

The state cabinet had initially recommended that Thackeray be nominated by the Governor to the Council from his quota. Despite sending two recommendations, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari did not nominate Thackeray to the Upper House of the legislature and was criticised by the MVA constituents.

Thackeray slams Centre for not helping with COVID-19 fight

Maharashtra government refuted all the claims that were made by the state's former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and said the state government has not yet received most of the benefits that it is ought to receive from the central government.

Fadnavis had said that Maharashtra can get a benefit of Rs. 2.71 trillion from the stimulus package of the central government, which is not happening since the state government is unable to take bold decisions. He added that the state has received Rs 28,000 crore so far from the Centre. However, Shiv Sena ministers dismissed such claims and said they haven't received funds to battle the pandemic nor their GST dues have been paid by the Centre.

BMC partly demolishes Kangana Ranaut's Bandra office

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished portions of actor Kangana Ranaut's office at Pali Hill in Mumbai, a day after giving a 24-hour notice to remove allegedly unauthorised constructions. Amid thick police security, the civic staff came with hammers and bulldozers, and demolished parts of the buildings.

The Bombay High Court later stayed the demolition on a petition by the actor's lawyer, Rizwan Siddiqui. Kangana claimed that it was an act of vendetta as she has commented on the ruling Shiv Sena's governance in the state. BMC, however, maintained that it was done as part of regular functioning and the portions were constructed illegally.

Arnab Goswami arrested in abetment to suicide case

The state government reopened the case of suicide of architect Anvay Naik and his mother Kumud Naik and Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami was arrested in connection with the case on May 5. He was sent to 14-day judicial custody by a lower court later that day. The Bombay High Court rejected Goswami's plea and observed that the victim's rights are as important as that of the accused. This was perceived as Sena's crackdown against Goswami for his comments against the ruling party.

Goswami finally moved the Supreme Court and was granted bail in the case.

Sushant Singh Rajput's death

On June 14, Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found hanging from the ceiling in his home in Bandra, Mumbai. The MVA government and BJP traded barbs at each other over the issue. There was also a tussle between the Bihar and Maharashtra governments over the quarantine of IPS officer Vinay Tiwari who had come to the city with a team to investigate the case. The central agencies and the state police also trained guns at each other with the Centre accusing the state of hiding evidence, while the MVA government blaming the BJP of blowing the case out of proportion.

Aarey declared reserve forest

The Maharashtra government decided to reserve 600-acres of flora and fauna-filled Aarey land near the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) to create a protected forest area. After deciding on this, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said the lush green forest in the middle of the concrete jungle will be the first of its kind in the world. The proposed Metro car shed at Aarey was also ordered to be shifted to Kanjurmarg.

24x7 Mumbai

Keeping up with the spirit of 'The city that never sleeps', the Maharashtra cabinet approved a plan to allow Mumbai malls, restaurants, and multiplexes to stay open around the clock from January 27 on a pilot basis. Extending the city's nightlife will help turn India's commercial capital into a global city and give its economy a boost by generating more jobs and tourist income, the state government had said.

Maharashtra government approves Shakti Act

In a bid to curb crimes against women and children in Maharashtra, the state cabinet approved a draft bill called the Shakti Act that has provisions for stern punishment, including the death penalty, life sentence, and hefty fines against perpetrators.

Stringent punishment, including the death penalty and heavy fines on the perpetrators, is a key feature of the draft bill. The perpetrators will be punished with imprisonment for life for not less than ten years but may extend to the remainder of natural life or with death in cases characterised as 'heinous'.