Amid reports of the ruling BJP and Shinde Shiv Sena vying for credit over the safe return of stranded tourists from
Kashmir following the Pahalgam terror attack, Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Friday denied that there was any “rift” or “discord” in the Mahayuti government over the issue. Bawankule's denial came in the wake of Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP rushing State Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan to Srinagar for coordinating the efforts to bring back tourists from the state, while deputy CM Eknath Shinde of the Shiv Sena air-dashing to Jammu and Kashmir in a private aircraft “to expedite the process of bringing back state tourists stranded in Jammu and Kashmir”.
Fadnavis had deployed two Cabinet ministers — Ashish Shelar and Mangalprabhat Lodha at the Mumbai airport to receive the stranded tourists arriving from the valley state, while Minister of State Madhuri Misal was stationed in the Pune airport. On the other hand, Shinde deployed two Cabinet ministers Dada Bhuse and Gulabrao Patil and Minister of State Yogesh Kadam at the Mumbai airport for receiving the tourists, Cabinet Minister Prakash Abitkar was present in the Pune airport Meanwhile, a statement issued from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) on Thursday said the state government had arranged a special flight each for IndiGo and Air India. A statement issued by the Deputy Chief Minister's office said his visit to Kashmir highlighted that whenever a tragedy strikes, he was the first person to rush to help. Unofficial reports have meanwhile said that more than 500 stranded tourists from Maharashtra have so far been brought to Mumbai by special flights besides the dead bodies and survivors of the terror attack.
On his part, Bawankule rubbished reports that the ruling BJP and its ally in the government Shiv Sena (Shinde) were out grab credit for ensuring the safe return of the Maharashtrian tourists stranded in Kashmir. Talking to media persons in Nagpur, Bawankule said, “There is no rift or discord in the government. Neither is there any politics behind Deputy CM Eknath Shinde going to Srinagar to meet the tourists from Maharashtra. Nor is there any politics in Girish Mahajan's visit to Jammu and Kashmir because he is the state disaster management minister.”
“We did not send other people to Kashmir to avoid much VIP movement over there. We are focused on bringing back over 3,000 tourists from Jammu and Kashmir. There is no politics or race to get credit for anything,” Bawankule said. When asked about Rahul Gandhi's visit to Srinagar on Friday to meet those injured in the Pahalgam terror attack, Bawankule said it was a good move by the Congress leader.
“All parties should come together and make the country strong,” he said.