Year-ender 2020: A year of Thackeray govt, controversies, decisions

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 friendturnedfoe 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 letrsquos dive inTransfer of Bhima Koregaon violence case to NIAA 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 KoregaonBhima violence case to the Centre it gave in and the case was shifted to the NIASharad Pawar had said that the Maharashtra governments alleged decision to transfer the BhimaKoregaon case to the Centre is constitutionally wrong as the investigation of crime falls under the states jurisdictionThackerayrsquos nomination to Legislative CouncilUddhav 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 legislatureHis 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 electionsThe 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 constituentsThackeray slams Centre for not helping with COVID19 fightMaharashtra government refuted all the claims that were made by the statersquos 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 governmentFadnavis had said that Maharashtra can get a benefit of Rs 271 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 28000 crore so far from the Centre However Shiv Sena ministers dismissed such claims and said they havenrsquot received funds to battle the pandemic nor their GST dues have been paid by the CentreBMC partly demolishes Kangana Ranautrsquos Bandra officeThe Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC demolished portions of actor Kangana Ranautrsquos office at Pali Hill in Mumbai a day after giving a 24hour notice to remove allegedly unauthorised constructions Amid thick police security the civic staff came with hammers and bulldozers and demolished parts of the buildingsThe Bombay High Court later stayed the demolition on a petition by the actorrsquos lawyer Rizwan Siddiqui Kangana claimed that it was an act of vendetta as she has commented on the ruling Shiv Senarsquos governance in the state BMC however maintained that it was done as part of regular functioning and the portions were constructed illegallyArnab Goswami arrested in abetment to suicide caseThe state government reopened the case of suicide of architect Anvay Naik and his mother Kumud Naik and Republic TV editorinchief Arnab Goswami was arrested in connection with the case on May 5 He was sent to 14day judicial custody by a lower court later that day The Bombay High Court rejected Goswamis plea and observed that the victims rights are as important as that of the accused This was perceived as Senarsquos crackdown against Goswami for his comments against the ruling partyGoswami finally moved the Supreme Court and was granted bail in the caseSushant Singh Rajputs deathOn 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 proportionAarey declared reserve forestThe Maharashtra government decided to reserve 600acres of flora and faunafilled 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 Kanjurmarg24x7 MumbaiKeeping 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 cityrsquos nightlife will help turn Indiarsquos commercial capital into a global city and give its economy a boost by generating more jobs and tourist income the state government had saidMaharashtra government approves Shakti ActIn 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 perpetratorsStringent 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