Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said here on Tuesday that because of the Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari ‘s recommendation for President’s rule in the State, his party had sufficient time on hand to discuss all Government formation-related issues with the Congress and NCP, including the formulation of a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) which were essential for providing a stable Government to the State.
Talking to media persons after the Congress and NCP leaders addressed a joint news conference, Uddhav said: “Because of the Governor, we have enough time on hand. All three parties — Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena — will sit across and formulate CMP and sort out other issues relating to the government formation”.
“Like the Congress and NCP, the Sena has also some issues on which we need clarification. We — all three parties — sit across and thrash them out before forming a government,” the Sena president said.
“It is not a joke to form a Government in state like Maharashtra. This is especially so when the parties of different ideologies come together to form a Government. There is need for discussion on certain issues,” Uddhav said.
“You may have at the Congress-NCP news conference, Ahmed Patel and Sharad Pawar said that for the first time, I approached them for support yesterday. This clears the misunderstanding sought to be created by the BJP that I had no time to talk to them, but I was in touch with the Congress and NCP. In the BJP’s case, I was not interested in talking to them. I told them that in case we need to need to something different for the country, we can do it,” the Sena president said.
Replying to a question, Uddhav said that it was not the Shiv Sena but the BJP finished the option of going together and forming a Government in the State. Asked if the alliance with the BJP ended fully, Uddhav told the questioner: “ Why are you such a hurry? ..... It is politics. The Governor has given us six months.