"Before elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and I said many times in public that if our alliance (BJP-Shiv Sena) wins, then Devendra Fadnavis will be the CM. No one objected back then," said Amit Shah breaking his silence over the political deadlock in Maharashtra.
New Delhi: Breaking his silence on Maharashtra's political logjam, BJP president and home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that no one objected when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he publicly said that Devendra Fadnavis would be the chief minister if the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance wins the Assembly polls in Maharashtra.
Shah, when asked to comment on the collapse of the alliance in Maharashtra, said, "Before elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and I had said many times in public that if our alliance wins, then Devendra Fadnavis will be the CM. No one objected back then. Now they (Shiv Sena) have come up with new demands which are not acceptable to us."
In reply to another question related to the time given for the formation of government in the state, Shah said: "Before this, no state was given so much time. 19 days were given (in Maharashtra). The Governor invited parties only after the Assembly's tenure ended. Neither Shiv Sena nor Congress-NCP staked claim and nor did we. Even today, if any party has numbers, it can approach the Governor."
Indian President Ram Nath Kovind had approved the recommendation of Maharashtra Governor, Union Cabinet and had imposed President's rule in Maharashtra, three hours before the deadline given to NCP to stake claim and form the government in the state on November 12.
Maharashtra Governor BS Koshyari had written to the President about the failure of political parties in Maharashtra to form the government.
Earlier, Shiv Sena could not form the government as their talks with the Congress did not yield any concrete results. As the deadline given to Shiv Sena came to an end on November 11 at 7.30 pm, the Governor had invited NCP to stake claim to form the government within 8.30 pm today (November 12), while denying the extension of time as requested by the Shiv Sena.
Shiv Sena has claimed that the Governor is acting at the behest of the BJP.
Meanwhile, the Governor has maintained that the political parties in Maharashtra have failed to form the government despite the chances given to them.
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