Remarking that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the opposition INDIA bloc were incapable of offering a fight to PM Narendra Modi, Maharashtra Deputy CM and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday alleged that certain unlawful powers who sought to foment lawlessness were backing the opposition.
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Addressing a meeting of state-level office bearers and zilla presidents and State BJP leaders to discuss strategy ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Mr. Fadnavis said that none of the INDIA bloc leaders had a national presence and that the alliance was not united.
INDIA not united
“The INDIA bloc is not a unified entity nor do they have any leader of a national stature. Their sole agenda is to defeat PM Modi and they have no programme for the country’s development. However, our fight is not with them but with certain powers backing them who want to create lawlessness,” alleged the Maharashtra BJP leader.
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Alluding to the Delhi police’s probe into the funding of an online English news portal, Mr. Fadnavis said: “During the probe against an online news portal it came to light that it was completely funded by China. So, the question arises that if some people, backed by Chinese funding, are attempting to create lawlessness within India, then to whom are these people related? Whose praises do they sing? Has something been pre-decided between these parties?”
He said that on one hand, while the common people felt that PM Modi ought to return in the 2024 election, the dynastic parties, along with certain powers jealous of India’s rise, were allegedly attempting to derail the country’s “swiftly moving train of progress.”
“Rahul Gandhi and the Congress have no credibility left in the minds of people today. The people know that Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav are incapable of providing national leadership. If they cannot stay united before the election, how can they do so after the polls?” said Mr. Fadnavis.
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PM universally popular
He said that while crowds gathered eagerly to listen to PM Modi whether he was speaking in Kashmir or Kanyakumari, nobody would listen if NCP chief Sharad Pawar spoke in Kerala or Mamata Banerjee addressed a rally in Tamil Nadu.
“The votes of these INDIA bloc parties are not transferrable nor are their leaders known outside their own states,” said the Deputy CM.
On the tripartite ruling government in Maharashtra comprising of the BJP, the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar NCP faction, Mr. Fadnavis said that the BJP is “the elder brother” among the three parties and had a responsibility to take them along and make sacrifices if need be.
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“Even if the Shiv Sena led by CM Shinde and Ajit Pawar’s NCP are with us, we are the biggest party of these three and an elder brother to them. So, we will have to take care of the other two and make sacrifices at times. However, we will not be deterred from our objective and will work with both parties to ensure victory in the 2024 elections,” said Mr. Fadnavis.
Meanwhile, even as Mr. Fadnavis spoke of unity in the ruling alliance, rumours seem to indicate that Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s is ‘dissatisfied’ after the latter skipped the cabinet meeting today.
Speculation intensified after both Mr. Shinde and Mr. Fadnavis suddenly departed for New Delhi in the evening to confer with BJP national president J.P. Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Downplaying reports of any friction between Ajit Pawar’s NCP and the Sena-BJP, Mr. Shinde clarified that Mr. Pawar could not attend the cabinet meet as he was “unwell”. Likewise, senior NCP (Ajit Pawar camp) leader Sunil Tatkare, too, said that Mr. Pawar was not well and resting at his bungalow ‘Devagiri’.