All well between BJP, Sena: Fadnavis

Says government won't interfere in the irrigation scam probe

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis scoffed at reports about a widening gap between the ruling coalition’s major partners, his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena.

Politics apart, the reports allege differences over the land acquisition Bill, development of the Jaitapur nuclear power project and “inadequate” help to farmers hit by natural calamities.

Fadnavis, who accompanied Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter’s China visit, told reporters here after the weekly Cabinet meeting that all was well between the two partners. Adding that he has a regular dialogue with Sena President Uddhav Thackeray and all government decisions are taken unanimously.

The Sena is strongly opposed to the 9,900 Mw Jaitapur project, while the prime minister and the Bhartiya Janta Party are in favour.

The Sena and its chief have also attacked the Centre for doing too little on relief to  Maharashtra farmers, hit drought, then untimely rain and hail. They were quite angry when Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh recently said in Parliament that the Centre had no formal request from the state government for financial help.

 

They also rapped Singh's statement that only three cases of farmer suicides had been reported from the state in recent months.

On law and order, Fadnavis said it had improved and the crime detection rate has increased compared to the 15-year predecessor coalition government of the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). He did not respond to a query on whether the state needed a separate minister for home affairs, a portfolio he has kept with himself.

On the ongoing inquiry into the irrigation scam against former deputy chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar, the chief minister said there would be no political interference.