WATCH | 'How Kamal Nath will save Maharashtra government?': CM Shivraj Chouhan takes dig at Congress.
Highlights
- MP CM Shivraj Chouhan on Wednesday took a jibe at Congress over its decision in Maharashtra
- Congress party deputes Kamal Nath as observer in Maharashtra amid the political developments
- The decision came soon after reports that some Shiv Sena MLAs along with party leader Eknath Shinde
Maharashtra political crisis news: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday (June 22) took a jibe at Congress over its decision to depute senior party leader Kamal Nath as All India Congress Committee (AICC) observer in Maharashtra amid its political crisis.
"Congress is counting its last moments," the Chief Minister said while addressing a public rally in Ujjain.He asked the Congress leadership how Kamal Nath will save the Maharashtra government when he could not save his own government in Madhya Pradesh.
"Kamal Nath (MP Congress chief and former MP CM) has gone to Maharashtra... how will someone who couldn't save his own govt in Madhya Pradesh, save the Maharashtra government?... Congress is counting its last moments," Chouhan said.
Congress deputes Kamal Nath as observer in Maharashtra amid political developments:
The Congress party on Tuesday (June 21) deputed its senior leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath as an AICC observer in the state. The decision came soon after reports that some Shiv Sena MLAs along with party leader Eknath Shinde moved to Surat posing threat to the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
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Meanwhile, Eknath Shinde, with 33 party MLAs and seven independent MLAs, who were staying at Le Meridien hotel in Surat arrived at Assam's Guwahati on Wednesday. This comes after suspected cross-voting in Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) elections in which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged five seats, in a major blow to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance government.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Shiv Sena won two each while Congress was able to clinch one seat out of the total 10 seats in Legislative Council that went to the polls on Monday.After the MLC elections, Shinde along with some other Shiv Sena MLAs was staying at Le Meridien hotel in Surat. A Shiv Sena delegation comprising Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's close aides Milind Narvekar and Ravindra Phatak also met Shinde and other party legislators in Surat.
Alleging that efforts are being made to topple the MVA government, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday confirmed that some Shiv Sena MLAs and Eknath Shinde were currently "not reachable".
He said that Shiv Sena MLAs were in Surat and they were not being allowed to leave.Amid the drama, Shinde took a veiled dig at Shiv Sena for joining hands with Congress and NCP to form the government in the state and tweeted, "We are Balasaheb's staunch Shiv Sainiks...Balasaheb has taught us Hindutva. We have never and will never cheat for power regarding Balasaheb's thoughts and Dharmaveer Anand Dighe Saheb's teachings."Shinde has also dropped "Shiv Sena" from his Twitter bio.
He has been instrumental in strengthening the organisation in the Thane region and was made the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in 2014 after the Shiv Sena parted ways with the BJP. Shinde was appointed as a cabinet minister in the MVA government. However, sources said Shinde has been feeling sidelined since the formation of the MVA government. His son Shrikant Shinde represents the Kalyan Lok Sabha seat.
The BJP and the Shiv Sena used to be allies until 2019 when after contesting the Maharashtra Assembly elections together both parted ways over the issue of the chief ministerial's post. Following days of the political impasse and high-voltage drama, the Shiv Sena finally formed the government along with the Congress and the NCP, with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray heading the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance government.
(With ANI inputs)
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