After Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde’s intra-party rebellion put the existence of the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi government in jeopardy, senior Congressman Kamal Nath on June 22 stressed there was “complete unity” within the Maharashtra Congress adding that both his party and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) stood firmly behind the Uddhav Thackeray.
Mr. Nath, who was on June 21 appointed as the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) observer in Maharashtra amid the political turmoil plaguing the State, further lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party’s politics of “bait and money power.”
Speaking on Mr. Shinde’s rebellion which has rattled the MVA, Mr. Nath said: “Maharashtra is the land of Shivaji Maharaj. I am confident the rebellious Sena MLAs will not taint it.”
On reaching Mumbai, Mr. Nath held a meeting with the Congress MLAs and later conferred with NCP chief Sharad Pawar at Mumbai’s Yashwantrao Chavan Centre.
“There is complete unity within the Maharashtra Congress. 41 of the 44 MLAs were present during my meeting with them. The others are enroute. I have spoken with Uddhav Thackeray over phone and could not meet him personally as he has tested COVID-19 positive…I have assured him that the Congress will keep supporting the MVA,” said Mr. Nath.
Positive message
He said that the unity within the Maharashtra Congress would send a positive message in keeping with the country’s political culture and the party’s principles, while remarking that Congress MLAs were “not for sale”.
“I have spoken with Sharad Pawar. He, too, has said that the NCP fully supports the Thackeray government,” said Mr. Nath.
While expressing hope that Uddhav Thackeray would strive to maintain unity within the Sena, Mr. Nath lambasted the BJP, saying that its politics of inducement and money power was putting the country’s future in grave peril.
“The BJP played the same tricks in Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Jharkhand. Their corrupt politics of luring MLAs from other parties by offering money and political inducements is playing with the principles of our Constitution. I am confident that under Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership, unity will prevail within the Sena,” said Mr. Nath.
