The Shiv Sena split following Eknath Shinde’s coup last June.
Mumbai:
The Eknath Shinde-BJP government is legitimate and will remain in power, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday, in remarks seen as a swipe at the Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thacekray, which Its collapse has been predicted.
He said the government coming to power in June 2022 was formed according to constitutional norms and rules.
Speaking to BJP executives in the northern Maharashtra city of Nashik, Mr Fadnavis said he believed the Supreme Court would rule in favor of “us”, referring to the Shiv Sena ( UBT) faction against Eknath Shinde-led team of 16 MLAs in Maharashtra.
Without naming Uddhav Thackeray’s faction, senior BJP leaders dismissed criticism that the government is illegitimate and that many members (the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde) will be disqualified (Supreme Court).
“The message is being spread so that the remaining 10-15 MLAs (in the Shiv Sena camp led by Thackeray) do not defect. Everything we do is by the rules and in compliance with the constitution. Our government is not ‘gaddars’ ( traitors) but ‘khuddars’ (self-respecting people),” Mr Fadnavis said.
He said Maha Vikas Aghadi’s rule (from November 2019 to June 2022) was marked by corruption and made no effort for the development of the country.
“There isn’t a single development project,” he said.
He said the Shinde-led government will not only complete its term but will be re-elected with a huge majority (in the 2024 Assembly elections).
Notably, Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Aaditya Thackeray and Sanjay Raut have been saying that the state government will not last long.
Recently, former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who led the previous MVA government, said that the Supreme Court should first decide to disqualify Shiv Sena from the rebel MLA before the Election Commission can rule on the “real” Shiv Sena.
He has said that the Supreme Court will hear daily matters related to the disqualification of the rebel MLA starting on February 14.
“We are serving the people while the MVA is obsessed with the T-20 corruption game,” Mr Fadnavis claimed.
The Shiv Sena split following Mr Shinde’s coup last June, triggering the downfall of the MVA government – a coalition of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress. Shinde then joined forces with the BJP to become Chief Minister.
Mr Fadnavis reiterated that the MVA’s franchise wanted to put him in prison “but the officer who was assigned the task is now in prison”.
(Aside from the title, this story is unedited by NDTV staff and published via a syndicated feed.)
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