The Maharashtra government will reduce Value Added Tax on petrol and diesel soon, the newly appointed Chief Minister Eknath Shinde informed the State Assembly on Monday.

In one of his first big populist move as the new CM, Maharashtra govt led by the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) and BJP will be brought down the fuel prices in the state.

Replying to a debate after he won the floor test, Shinde informed the House that a decision to reduce VAT on fuel will be taken in the state cabinet.

Speaking in the assembly after winning the trust vote, Maharashtra’s new Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said he had been suppressed for a long time and the rebellion led by him was a fallout of the unfair treatment meted out to him, an apparent reference to his old association with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena.

Last year in November, the Central government had cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and 10 on the occassion of Diwali. In May again, as the Centre sliced excise duty, states like Uttar Pradesh reduced VAT further.

Most BJP ruled states have chopped fuel prices while opposition-ruled states have been unwilling to do so. The Opposition-ruled states had earlier rejected the Prime Minister’s suggestion to cut VAT on fuel saying it would have a huge negative impact on their revenue.

Week after taking oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister with Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy, Eknath Shinde has won the show of strength in the state assembly today as 164 MLAs voted for the motion of confidence, while 99 voted against it on the last day of the special session.

Shinde was collapsed the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena government saying that he was earlier promised the deputy CM post when the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance was in power.

South African 360 degree batter AB De Villiers on Monday praised the duo for their performance. He was left impressed with team counterattacking partnership by Team India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant on Day 2 of the ongoing fifth Test match between India and England in Edgbaston.

Haven’t been home and missed most of the Cricket action. Finished watching the highlights now. That counterattack partnership from Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja is right up there with the best he has ever seen in Test Cricket, de Villiers tweeted on Monday.

The duo of Pant and Jadeja came together with India’s score reading 98/5 and added 222 runs, a joint-record sixth-wicket partnership for India, and post a giant total of 416 runs. Rishabh Pant smacked 146 runs in 111 balls with 4 sixes while Ravindra Jadeja made 104 runs.

Then, the Indian bowlers did their job brilliantly as England was reduced to 84/5 and despite a counterattacking 106 by Jonny Bairstow and his partnerships with Ben Stokes and Sam Billings, England only managed to make 284 runs.

For India, Mohammed Siraj picked four wickets, captain Jasprit Bumrah took three wicket, Mohammad Shami took 2 and Shardul Thakur took one wicket.

After India got bundled out for 245 runs in their second innings, England have got off to a solid start as they eye history in chase of 378 runs vs India. Alex Lees and Zak Crawley start the final innings for the hosts in final test match at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Cheteshwar Pujara has been the top scorer for India in the innings with 66 runs while Rishabh Pant followed him with a 57-run knock.

On the bowling front, Ben Stokes returned 4 for 33, while Stuart Broad and Matty Potts claimed two wickets apiece. Notably, India gained a first-innings lead of 132 runs vs England in the match.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security was compromised on Monday during his Andhra Pradesh visit when black balloons were reportedly spotted flying near PM Modi’s chopper. According to the reports, black balloons were released soon after PM Modi’s chopper took off from the Gannavaram Airport in Vijayawada. PM Modi was in Vijaywada to attend the national executive meeting, and during that time he stayed in Hyderabad.

A video of the same is doing the rounds on the internet. In the video, the Congress workers are seen on a rooftop holding black balloons and placards and chanting “Modi Go Back” slogans. As Modi’s chopper took off, the politicians released the black balloons and were heard laughing and clapping. The chopper can be seen in close proximity to the balloons.

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Although there was no damage, this has turned out to be a significant security breach for the Prime Minister. The police have registered the case and the investigation is underway. The police are looking into the identities of these Congress workers as well as how they got inside despite heavy security.

In the latest reports, police have taken 3 Congress protesters into custody for releasing the black balloons while a strict security cordon was set up around the airport, said SP Siddharth Kaushal, Krishna district.

According to The Hans India, Congress leader Rajiv Ratan claimed to have organized the protest against Centres for the non-implementation of promises made during the state’s bifurcation.

PM Modi visited Andhra Pradesh to mark the 125th birth anniversary of freedom fighter Alluri Sithraman Raju and unveiled a 30 feet tall bronze statue in Dharmavaram of West Godavari district.

Earlier on Sunday, the question was raised on West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s security when the man climbed through her residence’s wall at 1 am on Saturday night, crossed over, and sat throughout the night despite Z+ security cover.

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