Amid bitterness in ties with ally Shiv Sena, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has fired a fresh salvo questioning the opposition to his decision to provide security to Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali when Sena Chief’s family had hosted cricketer Javed Miandad.
Mr. Fadnavis, who had disapproved of the Sena’s >protests against Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali , said, “I told [Sena] that there can’t be different contours to denote who is patriotic. Did Ghulam Ali ever give a statement against India? He was scheduled to pay tributes to Jagjit Singh. If by providing him security we become Pakistanis, then does that mean that those who hosted Javed Miandad at their home, also become Pakistanis,” he asked.
He was referring to Miandad’s visit to Sena founder Bal Thackeray’s family residence Matoshree in Bandra in 2004. Bal Thackeray, in 2004, said that the meeting was to request that Pakistan players be allowed to play in India which he “rejected”.
‘My govt. will complete term’
The Chief Minister, at the same time, asserted that that the BJP-led government in Maharashtra will last the five-year term. “I am confident Sena will continue to be a part of the BJP-led government despite their recent postures and we will also contest the Mumbai municipal corporation election together.”
“We are two separate parties and there’s a difference in our thinking and working style. We fought against each other in last year’s Assembly polls but the mandate we got was against Congress-NCP,” Mr. Fadnavis said, adding, “had we got 20-22 seats more, we would have been the only party in power.”
“There will be agreement on some things and disagreement on some other items,” he said.
“There’s bound to be some bickering. But both the parties understand that this is bound to happen in a coalition government,” Mr. Fadnavis said, who a few hours earlier had launched a scathing attack on Sena at a civic poll rally in adjoining Thane district.
To a query on the intense verbal duel between leaders of both the parties during campaign for Kalyan Dombivli and Kolhapur civic elections scheduled for tomorrow, he said “these are local elections and won’t have any bearing on State politics.”
