Published 11:46 IST, February 22nd 2020
'Fadnavis will not be former CM for long': RSS' Bhaiyyaji Joshi after Modi-Uddhav meet
A day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, RSS has issued a statement on Devendra Fadnavis and the CM post
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A day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, RSS has issued a statement saying that the tag of 'former CM' will not be attached to Devendra Fadnavis for long. Speaking at an event on Friday, RSS General Secretary Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi has said that in a democracy things change but the luck will not keep Fadnavis as leader of Opposition "forever".
"In a democracy, governments hold a big share of power, and by it, governments are responsible for social welfare. I want to say that Devendra Fadnavis ji's destiny will not keep him as leader of opposition forever. Also, the tag of former CM is a short-lived tag for him. But it is a democracy so in a democracy things change," he said.
In the Maharashtra elections last year, BJP won 105 seats and its partner Shiv Sena won 56 seats. However, due to differences over the CM post, Sena and BJP parted ways and Sena formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi government along with Congress and NCP. This was preceded by Fadnavis becoming the CM, for 80 hours with the support of NCP's Ajit Pawar who claimed NCP MLAs are with BJP. Later, Fadnavis was selected as the leader of Opposition.
Uddhav meets PM Modi, Advani
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP veteran LK Advani, and Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi in the national capital. After meeting PM Modi, Uddhav backed the Centre’s explanation on the Citizenship Amendment Act, National Register of Citizens and the National Population Register. Flanked by party MP Sanjay Raut and son Aaditya, he revealed that many issues pertaining to the state such as pending GST dues, PM Fasal Bima Yojana were discussed. Moreover, he mentioned that the PM assured him cooperation from the Centre for the development of Maharashtra.
Shift in stance?
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray made a big U-turn on his stance on the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Population Register after meeting Sonia Gandhi. Apart from the Maharashtra CM, his son Aaditya, party MP Sanjay Raut and senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge were also present in the meeting with Sonia Gandhi. In a series of tweets, Thackeray made statements that seemed to contradict some of his remarks in the press briefing post his meeting with PM Narendra Modi.
11:45 IST, February 22nd 2020