Ignoring the continued jibes from its sulking junior alliance partner — Shiv Sena, the ruling BJP in Maharashtra on Thursday went about the task of preparing itself on ways to reach out to the people the achievements of the Devendra Fadnavis Government during its first year in office.
Even as the Sena — through its editorial published in its official mouth-piece Saamana — fired another sarcastic missile at the BJP, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis presided over a meeting of party State office-bearers at the party’s Mumbai office at Dadar in north-central Mumbai, called to chalk out to plans to commemorate his Government’s first year in office.
Interacting with his party’s office-bearers, Fadnavis said at the meeting that instead of celebrating his Government’s one-year tenure in office, the ruling BJP would have to reach out the achievements of his Government.
Fadnavis said that the precious Congress-NCP alliance Government had diminished the hopes and aspirations of the people, during its 15-year rule in the State. “The people have high hopes from our Government. Our ministerial team has worked well during the past one year. Ministers have taken many people-centric initiatives. Whatever we have promised before the elections we have tried to deliver on all the promises. It is in this context, we have to reach out all our achievements to the people,” the Chief Minister said.
Fadnavis said the BJP would hold public interactions across the State, on the occasion of his Government completing its first year in office on October 31.
At the meeting, the BJP set up a committee – headed by State party president Raosaheb Danve-Patil – to chalk out programmes for commemorating the Devendra Fadnavis Government’s first year in office.
Queried if its reported rift with the Shiv Sena came up for discussion at Thursday’s meeting, Maharashtra BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari replied in the negative and said: “The meeting had specially been called to discuss the ways to reach out our State Government’s achievements during the last one year to the people in the State. We did not discuss anything other than the slated agenda of business”.
Earlier in the day, the Shiv Sena alluded to a security alert sounded by the intelligence agencies that three suspected Pakistani terrorists had sneaked into Mumbai in the run-up to Dussehra and Diwali celebrations, and asked the State Government to treat them as “messengers of peace” coming from the neighbouring country.
“Though the intelligence alert suggests that the three suspected terrorists are in the city to engineer attacks during the festival days, there is no need for the people of Maharashtra to nurse any apprehensions about their presence in the State. After all they have brought a message of peace from Pakistan. They need to be given protection by our police. It is also necessary that we give them permission to engineer blasts during their stay in the city,” the Sena mouth-piece stated in a sarcastic manner.
The Sena — which is still licking its wounds after a public condemnation of its paint attack on Observer Research Foundation chairman Sudheendra Kulkarni by the Chief Minister, leaders of different political parties and prominent people from different walks of life — once again took a pot shot at Fadnavis for his statement that the Kulkarni blackening incident had brought “bad name” to Maharashtra.
“There should not be short-comings in according a royal welcome to three terrorists who have come to the country as ambassadors of peace. The rulers should take care to see that no one should indulge in such act that would bring bad name to Maharashtra. let the spirit of patriotism and nationalism go to dogs. Beware the rulers, the Pakistani terrorists are coming !. Roll out red carpet for them! Give them protection,” the Saamana edit stated, as it mocked at the BJP for its “patronising attitude” towards to visitors from Pakistani.