Pawar, Raut refute BJP’s claims of instability in Maharashtra, say government will complete full term

A day after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar met chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray at his residence amid speculation of a rift between the

A day after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar met chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray at his residence amid speculation of a rift between the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday cleared the air saying there is no need to worry about the stability of the state government. He said the Thackeray government will complete its full term.

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On Monday, Pawar reached Matoshree – the Thackeray residence – after meeting Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. There were speculations that Pawar was not happy with Thackeray’s handling of the Covid-19 outbreak, while Thackeray was unhappy with Pawar’s stand to reopen economic activities in the state.

Raut tweeted on Tuesday morning, “Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar met at Matoshree last evening for 1.5 hours. There are some who are spreading false stories about the stability of this MVA govt. That is nothing but heartburn. This government is stable. Don’t worry.”

Speaking to reporters in Mumbai later, Raut said: “This period during the pandemic is painful for the Opposition. Politics is in quarantine. They must be doing this [speculating about fall of the government] to kill time. The Thackeray government of the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena will complete its full term. There is no danger to the government. The Opposition should worry about their party. We have support of 170 legislators. The independents, which had backed the BJP, are in our contact. No legislator [from the MVA] will switch sides.”

Raut, in his interaction with the media, said that Pawar met Thackeray to discuss the course of action for the state government and measures to be taken to tackle Covid-19. “If we take Pawar saheb’s suggestions and guidance on these matters, what is the harm? The country’s prime minister too takes his guidance, you all know that.”

Responding to demands of President’s rule in Maharashtra, Raut said, “If the Opposition feels that enough is not being done to tackle the coronavirus outbreak and President’s rule should be imposed, Gujarat is a fit for it. The Gujarat high court’s observations are serious. The governor there should summon the [Gujarat] CM and the Opposition party in Maharashtra should go there and launch an agitation.”

Nawab Malik, NCP spokesperson and minister in the state government, expressed confidence that the state government would complete its full term. “The government is strong and stable and the three parties are united. The numbers [of legislators] are in favour of MVA,” Malik told a channel. “Some people within the BJP have been spreading rumours since past few days that President’s rule will be imposed in Maharashtra, and that this government will collapse.”

He added that the state government is handling the Covid-19 as per the guidelines of the Centre. “The Maharashtra government has been strictly adhering to the Centres guidelines on combating Covid-19. The number of people tested and traced in Maharashtra is highest in the country,” he claimed.

Pawar, Thackeray, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and other senior MVA ministers held meetings at the Bal Thackeray memorial site in Shivaji Park this month. Raut said that Pawar is a veteran leader, who had run the government in Maharashtra for several years and is an experienced administrator.

The Thackeray government has been criticised by the Bharatiya Janata Party and Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis. The former CM had led an agitation against the government last week. Fadnavis is scheduled to address the media via video-conferencing on Tuesday evening.

Former Sena leader and BJP leader Narayan Rane also met the governor on Monday and demanded the implementation of President’s rule in the state as the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government he said failed to tackle the crisis. He also demanded all government hospitals should be taken over by the military as the present system has failed.