'Secular but Hindutva' parties will come-together against 'pseudo-secular' opposition: Fadnavis
In a subtle hint of his hopes of the BJP and the Shiv Sena jointly contesting the next year's polls, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that all "secular but Hindutva" parties would come together to counter the "pseudo-secular" opposition. Fadnavis made these comments yesterday at a Lokmat Group program in Mumbai, where he was being interviewed by Sanjay Raut, Sena's Rajya Sabha member.
BJP-Sena alliance broke as Thackeray's party was adamant over seat-sharing
Fadnavis said the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance broke before the 2014 state polls because of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party's being "adamant" attitude for just four more seats. "We had offered you 147 seats, but you were adamant on 151. Had you accepted our offer, the Sena would have got more seats than BJP and either Uddhavji or you (Raut) would have become CM," Fadnavis retorted.
Shiv Sena runs on ethos of late Balasaheb Thackeray
Fadnavis said, Shiv Sena may be a party led by Uddhav Thackeray, but it runs on the ethos of late Balasaheb Thackeray. "Balasaheb also wanted that all secular but Hindutva parties come together," he said. Speaking about how he predicts Sena's future, Fadnavis said, "The Shiv Sena is a political party and hence it is easy to predict what it will do in future."
PM Narendra Modi does not control Maharashtra government: Fadnavis
The CM denied that PM Narendra Modi or BJP Chief Amit Shah hold the "remote control" of the Maharashtra government. "He (Narendra Modi) has asked us not to take populist measures and don't make announcements that cannot be implemented," said Fadnavis. The CM also appealed to all political parties to introspect whether they were glorifying criminals by inducting them.
Fadnavis denied that he failed as state's Home Minister
Fadnavis denied that he failed as the state's Home Minister. "In last three years, we have taken conviction rate to 32% from 8%. That is my achievement. Former Home Minister RR Patil had once told me that the CM must keep the Home portfolio with himself because most of the decisions of the department are given a final nod by the CM," he said.
