Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Thursday alleged that imposition of President's rule in Maharashtra was a "scripted act" and took a jibe at the governor, saying he has now given parties six months to form government. It also said that former state chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is shedding "crocodile tears" over the imposition of President's rule as power is still indirectly in the hands of the BJP.
Criticising the governor for giving the Shiv Sena just 24 hours to stake claim and refusing it additional time to muster numbers, an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana' said, "It looked like some invisible power was controlling this game and decisions were taken accordingly."
• A day after President’s rule was imposed in the state, BJP president Amit Shah said no one had earlier raised objections when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he had publicly projected Devendra Fadnavis as the party’s chief ministerial face in Maharashtra were the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance to win the Assembly elections. “Before elections, the Prime Minister and I said many times in public that if our alliance wins, then Devendra Fadnavis will be the chief minister,” the Union Home Minister told news agency ANI in an interview. “No one objected back then. Now they have come up with new demands, which are not acceptable to us.”
• However, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said, “I haven't heard Amit Shah any statement in which he said that Devendra Fadnavis will be the chief minister. The discussions which took place in a closed room … I think Amit Shah has not informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about it,” he said. “That closed door wherein talks were held was not a common room, it was Bala Sahab Thackeray’s room. That room is like a temple for us. If anyone now claims that such talks did not take place in that room, it’s an insult to Bala Sahab and it’s an insult to Maharashtra,” Raut added.
• Amid the Shiv Sena's efforts to form government with the support of the NCP and Congress, Sanjay Raut on Thursday posted a message on Twitter to assert that they would neither get defeated nor be afraid. "Ab haarna aur darna manaa hai..," the Rajya Sabha member and Sena's spokesman tweeted, a day after he was discharged from the city-based Lilavati Hospital, where he underwent an angioplasty procedure on Monday.
• The 57-year-old firebrand Sena leader also tweeted a motivational Hindi couplet, saying, "Haar ho jaati hai jab maan liya jaata hai, jeet tab hoti hai jab thaan liya jaata hai" (defeat happens when one accepts it, victory happens when one is determined). Raut on Wednesday also posted a message on Twitter to indicate tough path ahead for his party in its efforts to form government in Maharashtra with the Congress and NCP, which were its ideological rivals till recently.
• After the Assembly poll results in Maharashtra were declared on October 24, Raut led the Sena's charge to seek equal share in power with the BJP, leading to falling apart of the nearly three-decade-old saffron alliance. The Shiv Sena, which espouses the Hindutva ideology, is trying to find a common ground with the Congress and NCP in its attempt to cobble-up a government in Maharashtra, which is under President's rule since Tuesday. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday met Maharashtra Congress leaders Ashok Chavan, Balasaheb Thorat and Manikrao Thakare and later said talks were going on in the right direction.
• President's rule was imposed in the state on Tuesday after Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari sent a report to the Centre, stating that formation of a stable government was impossible in the current situation despite all his efforts.
• On Wednesday night, reports emerged that Congress and NCP are likely to hold meetings in Delhi in next three to four days to work out modalities of their possible tie-up with the Shiv Sena to form the government.
• On Thursday, the Sena alleged that protocol was not followed when it went to the Raj Bhawan to seek more time to stake claim for government formation. The governor waited for the term of the 13th Assembly to end. Had he initiated the government formation procedure earlier, his action of recommending President's rule would have looked "ethically correct", the Marathi publication said. "The governor is so kind that he has now given us six months," it said in sarcastic remarks. "In fact, the imposition of President's rule was a scripted act. It was already decided," the Sena alleged.
• The governor was earlier an RSS worker and served as chief minister of Uttarakhand. But Maharashtra is a grand state in terms of geography and history, it noted. "When the governor denies 48 hours (to stake claim), then people would think something is wrong with the way he is acting," the Uddhav Thackeray-led said.
• The Shiv Sena said after the imposition of President's rule, Fadnavis termed it as an "unfortunate" development. Had Fadnavis condemned the decision of President's rule, then it could have been said his intentions were true, the Sena opined. "The former chief minister has expressed concern on whether President's rule would impact investments in Maharashtra. Fadnavis is shedding crocodile tears. If someone is shedding crocodile tears over Presidents rule in the state, it is a farce," the editorial said. With President's rule, the power is still indirectly in the BJP's hands, it said, adding that those who demitted office "look happy" with this decision.
• The BJP and Shiv Sena, which fought the October 21 state polls in alliance, secured a comfortable majority by winning 105 and 56 seats, respectively, in the 288-member Assembly. But the BJP did not cede the Sena's demand of sharing the chief minister's post, leading to falling apart of the nearly three-decade-old alliance.
• The Congress and NCP won 44 and 54 seats, respectively, in the last month's polls. After the imposition of President's rule in the state, the Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP leaders on Wednesday held hectic parleys to work out a 'common minimum programme' for government formation.
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