One of two vacant RS seats with BJP to be given to Ajit Pawar-led NCP, says Fadnavis

Pune: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said one of the two Rajya Sabha seats that got vacant after Udayanraje Bhosale and Piyush Goyal were elected to the Lok Sabha will be given to the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party.

BJP leaders Bhosale and Goyal won the recent Lok Sabha polls from Satara and Mumbai North, respectively.

Speaking to reporters in Satara, Fadnavis said, "BJP has two Rajya Sabha seats that are vacant now. While one seat will remain with BJP, the the other seat is likely to go to Ajit Pawar (faction) or will go to them as BJP had promised that earlier. An appropriate decision will be taken by the BJP parliamentary board."

Talking to reporters in Pune, Fadnavis criticised the Congress for opposing the Waqf (Amendment) Bill that was introduced in Lok Sabha on Thursday and referred to a joint parliamentary panel after a heated debate.

While the Narendra Modi government has asserted the proposed law did not intend to interfere with the functioning of mosques, the opposition parties led by the Congress have claimed it targets Muslims and is an attack on the Constitution.

"The Congress is only interested in grabbing the Wakf land. We have seen who all from the Congress grabbed Wakf land whenever there has been scam related to such land. A report to that effect had also come to the fore. The proposed bill aims to bring transparency and that is why they (Congress) are opposing it," Fadnavis claimed.