MPCC President Harshavardhan Sapkal and Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis.
Credit: X/@INCHarshsapkal, PTI Photo
Mumbai: Mounting a major offensive against the BJP-led Maha Yuti dispensation led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the Congress described it as the “gang of triple engine government” and said that it was not formed based on ideology, development, or trust, but solely for power.
The comments of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) President, Harshavardhan Sapkal came in the wake of unease among the two Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, who are Shiv Sena chief leader and NCP president, respectively.
“Shinde has now become isolated within the Maha Yuti, and the fear of a potential party split has started troubling him. It is out of this very fear that the drama of his displeasure and protests has unfolded. This Maha Yuti was not formed based on ideology, development, or trust, but solely for power. But instead of accepting humiliation for the sake of power, Shinde should walk out of the government,” said Sapkal.
“The three parties in power have come together out of the helplessness that comes with holding onto power. This is a “gang of triple engine government,” which is why we are witnessing gang wars among them. Sometimes Shinde, upset, goes and sulks in a field in Dare village of Satara district, and sometimes Pawar goes missing. If Shinde truly wants to register his protest or is genuinely upset, and if nothing concrete is happening, then he should step down from power. But since he cannot live without power, he will have to silently endure whatever harassment Fadnavis subjects him to,” the Congress chief said.
He said Pawar went to Delhi and pleaded before Union Home Minister Amit Shah to save him. “It appears he succeeded in negotiating a settlement in Delhi, and Parth Pawar seems to have received a clean chit. It also seems that Fadnavis and Pawar have reached some form of understanding. If that weren’t the case, action would not have been taken against only a few officers and the person with merely 1 per cent stake, while sparing Parth Pawar, who holds 99 per cent stake. Despite alleging a Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam against Ajit Pawar, the BJP still inducted him into the government,” Sapkal remarked sarcastically.
He also said that the BJP has given tickets to the drug mafia, goons, corrupt individuals, and those facing serious criminal charges in the local bodies elections. “People with serious crimes are being inducted into the party and purified through “washing,” but the public must not endorse this distorted, criminal politics of the BJP,” he said.