Mumbai: Chief minister Eknath Shinde, who recently went on a two-day tour of Guwahati with his MLAs and MPs, announced the construction of a Maharashtra Sadan in Assam and a cultural centre named after Chhatrapati Shivaji on the premises of the Kamakhya temple. The Maharashtra government has, in turn, approved the allotment of a piece of land for an Assam Bhavan in Navi Mumbai.
Shinde and his entourage of around 40 MLAs and MPs and a few independents supporting his party left Guwahati on Sunday afternoon for Mumbai. Speaking at the airport, the chief minister, who leads the breakaway Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, said that during his meeting with his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma, the duo decided to strengthen the social, cultural, and industrial ties between the two states.
Interestingly, the two met at the very hotel in which the rebel MLAs had stayed for 11 days in June when they defected from the Shiv Sena in a bid to topple the Uddhav Thackeray government. Shinde thanked Sarma for his support during the rebellion and invited him to visit Maharashtra. The politicos also paid a thanksgiving visit to Kamakhya temple for the smooth formation of the government after their defection from the Shiv Sena.
“Responding positively to our request, Sarma has assured us that he will allot land for a Maharashtra Sadan,” Shinde said. “We are thankful to him. This will facilitate lakhs of devotees coming to Kamakhya temple from Maharashtra. Similarly, we have assured them that we will allot land for an Assam Sadan in Navi Mumbai. We will ask Cidco to identify a plot for this. We want to strengthen ties between our two states.”
Maharashtra has appointed port and mining minister Dadaji Bhuse as a coordinator between the two states to oversee the implementation of the announcements. “The cultural centre will house artifacts and galleries representing culture from both states. The Assam government has also assured us that it will construct a Vithal Rakhumai temple in its capital,” a statement issued by the chief minister’s office stated.
The developments provided grist for the Shiv Sena (UBT) mill. Sanjay Raut criticised Shinde, saying that an Assam Sadan already existed in Navi Mumbai. He also said that although Maharashtra has been generous, other states do not give land for Maharashtra Sadans in their capital cities.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) also took a dig at both CMs, saying that like-minded leaders had come together. “Sarma defected from the Congress just like Shinde defected from the Shiv Sena. The two became chief ministers by switching loyalties and now are getting along well. However, Kamakhya Devi is known to do justice, and I believe she will do justice with defectors who betrayed their party,” Raut said.
Shinde, on his part, lambasted the Shiv Sena (UBT) for its repeated ‘pannaas khoke’ (50 crores) jibes against his camp and said that his party would expose (Thackeray) over the shifting of ‘khokas’ in large refrigerator cartons. Education minister Deepak Kesarkar on Saturday had warned the Thackeray-led Sena to not call them ‘khoke sarkar’. “If you continue to refer to us like that, we will be left with no option but to expose the Thackeray camp’s previous deals,” he said.