A day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray slammed BJP in Shiv Sena’s annual Dasara rally over the use of investigation agencies for political gain against the Opposition, BJP leader and former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Government is the most corrupt in the history of the State.
Countering Mr. Thackeray’s claim that the Centre was encroaching on States’ rights by violating the principle of federalism, the BJP leader claimed that the Shiv Sena president was taking along individuals of left and Communist ideology to change the Constitution prepared by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar.
“Had these agencies been misused, half the State Cabinet would have been in jail. But we believe in democracy and will not misuse these agencies,” Mr. Fadnavis told reporters in Nagpur. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi never let agencies being misused.
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The Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly went on to say the State Government would be recorded in the history as the most corrupt. “There is only one agenda of this government and that is extortion.”
“Dalali in this government has reached to the level that some Ministers have even got extortion softwares created to know how much money has been extorted. Why blame ED and CBI if such things are happening,” he said, adding that the Central probe agencies were acting on the directions of the court and not through political motive.
Commenting on Mr. Thackeray’s statement about the BJP not fulfilling the promise of making a Sena worker Chief Minister, Mr. Fadnavis countered saying the MVA government is formed through dishonesty. “Respected Uddhavji should accept that he had ambitions of becoming a Chief Minister. In politics, having ambitions is no wrong. But if you wanted a Sena worker at the helm, then why didn’t you choose senior Sena leaders like Divakar Raote, Subhash Desai or Eknath Shinde,” he asked.
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Speaking in front of the Sena workers, Mr. Thackeray on Friday had appealed them to fight against the BJP like the way Mamata Banerjee did in West Bengal. Mr. Fadnavis said the CM wants to turn Maharashtra into West Bengal where no industry could flourish due to union activities and extortion. “People are beaten up there for speaking against. The BJP will never let Maharashtra turn into West Bengal,” he said.
Asked about Mr. Thackeray’s challenge to the BJP to dare and topple his government, Mr. Fadnavis said the BJP was not interested in that. “We are interested in issues concerned to the people. If the Government has to fall, he would not even know.”