Regarding the decision to rename the districts of Aurangabad and Osmanabad made during the final cabinet meeting of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government, Pawar claimed that the matter was not covered by the MVA's common minimum programme and that he only learned of the decision after it had been made.
Pawar was speaking to reporters while on a two-day trip to Aurangabad. In response to a question about whether the MVA parties should compete in the state's upcoming assembly elections jointly, Pawar replied, "It is my personal wish that the MVA constituents should contest the future polls together...But this is my personal opinion. I will first have to discuss the issue with my party leaders and talks can then be held with the alliance partners."
Days after the Shiv Sena faced a mutiny led by senior politician Eknath Shinde, the MVA administration of Uddhav Thackeray fell on June 29. Shinde took the oath of office as chief minister on June 30 while BJP candidate Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as his deputy. A total of 40 dissident Sena MLAs back Shinde. Slamming the breakaway Sena MLAs for the justifications given for their uprising, Pawar said, "The dissident legislators don't give any fixed reason. Sometimes they talk about Hindutva, sometimes about funds."
The rebel MLAs have been claiming since their uprising that they rebelled against the Sena leadership because the party was turning away from the Hindutva agenda. Some of them even mentioned how their constituencies were denied funding.
"All reasons - Hindutva, NCP and lack of development funds - given by the rebel Sena legislators as explanation for their decision holds no meaning," the NCP supremo said. Pawar insisted that he had no idea that Aurangabad and Osmanabad had been renamed Sambhanjinagar and Dharashiv, respectively. "Renaming these locations was not a component of the MVA's common minimum initiative. Only after the choice had already been made did I learn.
It was taken without prior consultation. Opinions were expressed by our people during the cabinet meeting over the proposal. But the decision was that of the (then) chief minister (Thackeray), Pawar said. Had any decisions about Aurangabad's welfare been taken, people would have been happy, he added. Talking about the speculation that some Congress MLAs in Goa may cross over to the ruling BJP, the former Union minister asked how can one forget what happened in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and in Maharashtra.
"According to me, it took a long time for Goa," he said. When asked about the delay in the formation of the Shinde-led government's cabinet, he said it could be because of the Supreme Court's hearing scheduled on Monday.
The Supreme Court will hear the plea of Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu seeking suspension from assembly of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and 15 rebel MLAs against whom disqualification pleas are pending. The vacation bench of the court had on June 27 granted interim relief to the Shinde faction by extending the time for replying to the disqualification notices sent to 16 rebel Sena MLAs till July 12.
But Pawar declined to speculate on the apex court's verdict on the petitions of disqualification of rebel MLAs and the Thackeray-led Sena challenging the floor test. "I have faith in judiciary. The court will decide tomorrow to whom the Shiv Sena belongs," he said. He also refused to predict how long the Shinde-led government will last. "Let's see how the government takes decisions," he said. Replying to a query about the proposal to appoint twelve members to the Legislative Council pending with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Pawar said, "The MVA government kept persuading the governor for allowing speaker's election for a year. On the contrary, he took a decision about the new government within 48 hours," he said. "The governor will now appoint the twelve members. In fact, discussion on it is also taking place," Pawar added.
When asked about Uddhav Thackeray's leadership abilities, Pawar responded that his poor health limited his mobility. "I don't think Uddhav Thackeray will go with the BJP," he said when asked about reports of Milind Narvekar, Thackeray's close aide, meeting Fadnavis.
(With PTI inputs)
