Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis called off the second phase of his mahajanadesh yatra on Saturday on receiving news of the death of former Union finance minister Arun Jaitley.
Earlier, on August 6 he cut short the first phase of the outreach programme that started at Yavatmal after the death of party stalwart Sushma Swaraj on August 6. The yatra was later cancelled due to the flood situation in western Maharashtra. Both phases were incidentally called off while passing through Buldhana.
In his condolence message, Mr. Fadnavis said, “This is a sad moment for all of us. Mr. Jaitely rose as a student leader and became president of the Delhi University. He even spent 19 months in jail during Emergency.”
The Chief Minister’s yatra started from Jalgaon district at 9.30 a.m. and was en route to Malkapur in Buldhana district when Mr. Fadnavis received news of Mr. Jaitley’s death. He called senior party leaders in Delhi, before calling off the yatra.
“Please ask the cadres to not play music or offer flowers to the convoy,” he told Cabinet Minister Girish Mahajan who was accompanying him. The other public gatherings at Nandura, Khamgaon and Shegaon were also called off. “The Chief Minister will not participate in the remaining leg of the yatra. We have passed on the message to the cadre. The yatra will begin on Monday,” said organiser Sujit Singh Thakur.
