Pawar’s snipe at Fadnavis: I insisted Uddhav be CM

Pune, October 16

NCP president Sharad Pawar on Saturday said he had insisted that Uddhav Thackeray become CM of Maharashtra after the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was formed two years ago, hours after BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis claimed Thackeray covertly nurtured ambitions to become a CM but kept talking about installing a “Shiv Sainik” on the post.

Speaking to reporters in Pimpri Chinchwad city in the Pune district, Pawar reiterated his allegations that the Centre was misusing various agencies to destabilise the tripartite government of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress in Maharashtra. He said the BJP was “keeping mum” on the issue of rising prices of fuel and accused the saffron party of not lowering rates of petrol and diesel despite a fall in the international prices of crude.

“Thackeray was selected by leaders of three parties (in the MVA). When we held a meeting to form the MVA and to discuss the leadership of the alliance, I forced him (Uddhav Thackeray) to become the CM. I have seen these people since their childhood. (Shiv Sena founder) Balasaheb Thackeray and I might have political differences but we were close.

“I thought why not the son of a person who had contributed for Maharashtra should become the CM and I insisted Uddhav Thackeray to become the CM. Fadnavis had worked with Uddhav so he knows how Uddhav is. He should stop questioning repeatedly about how Uddhav became CM,” the NCP chief said.

Earlier in the day, Fadnavis had alleged that the MVA government was formed through dishonesty. “I feel that respected Uddhavji should now accept that he had ambitions of becoming a CM which he fulfilled. In politics, having ambitions is not wrong. But if you wanted to keep the word, you could have made senior Sena leaders Diwakar Raote, Subhash Desai or Eknath Shinde a CM,” Fadnavis said. — PTI