Ridiculing the Opposition “Mahaghatbandhan” for being a 56-party grand alliance, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Sunday that “it is not a 56-party grand alliance but a 56-inch chest that is needed to govern the country”.
Launching a joint campaign of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance along with Sena president Uddhav Thackeray at a large public rally at Kolhapur in western Maharashtra, Fadnavis said, “They (the Opposition) say that they are an alliance of 56 parties. I would like to know from them how of the 56 parties are registered entities. Are they just parties picked up from the streets?...I would like to tell them what is needed to govern the country is not 56 party grand alliance, but a 56 inch chest that we have with us”.
Singling out NCP chief Sharad Pawar and the Congress for criticism, Fadnavis said, “The Opposition is not getting candidates to field in the Lok Sabha polls. They are changing the candidates every day. Their captain (Sharad Pawar) has withdrawn from Madha constituency. Here is the captain who wanted to open the innings but has become a 12th man and a non-playing captain. As a result, the people have made up their mind to support the BJP-Sena alliance in Maharashtra and ensure the return of the Narendra Modi-led NDA at the Centre”.
“Ours is not an alliance formed merely grab power but an alliance that is formed on the basis of ideology. It is not for becoming either a Chief Minister or a Prime Minister. BJP and Shiv Sena are ideologically aligned parties. We are proud that we are Hindutvadi parties. Our Hindutva is not a narrow ideology. Our Hindutva transcends all barriers region, language etc. Ours is an alliance that takes along all people who love this country,” the Chief Minister said.
Maintaining that the BJP-Sena alliance was “nationalist” at heart, Fadnavis alluded to the presence of RPI (A) in the saffron alliance-led “Maha Yuti” and said: “Ours is a combination of Shiv Shakti and Bhim Shakti. We have taken a plunge into electoral battle with nationalistic fervour”.
Fadnavis, who listed out the achievements of the Narendra Modi government and the saffron alliance government led by him in the state, said, “You (Congress-NCP alliance) bring your report of your government for 15 years and we will show our report card of governance in the state for four and a half years. You will get to see that we have accomplished during the last four and a half years more than what you could do during year 15-year rule”.
Hitting out at the Congress and NCP for spreading “misinformation” during the 2014 Lok Sabha and Assembly poll campaign that the leaders fromVidharbha would mete out a step-motherly treatment to western Maharashtra, Fadnavis said, “The Modi Government has taken more decisions favouring sugar-rich western Maharashtra than the previous UPA Government. In the process, we the leaders from Vidarbha have disproved that we harm the interests of western Maharashtra. Development statistics prove that campaign carried out by the Congress-NCP alliance was false one”.
Slamming the Opposition parties for demanding proof of casualties in the IAF’s air strikes on terror camps in Pakistan, Fadnavis said: “The Opposition parties have no concern for our defence forces. They have concern for Pakistan.... Our IAF diminished the terror camps in Pakistan. Unlike in the past, it is our political leadership at the Centre that gave a go-ahead to our defence forces to carry out air attack on the terror camps in Pakistan”.
Coming down heavily on NCP President Sharad Pawar for wanting to remain in power, Thackeray said:”In neighbouring Pakistan, cricketer Imran Khan became the Prime Minister but here PM-aspirant became the ICC chief.He just wants to cling to power”.