Mumbai: The deputy chief minister of the state, Devendra Fadnavis, on Tuesday defended the governor, Bhagat Singh Koshyari. He said that the governor could continue for his entire term of five years if he wishes and nobody has asked him to resign.
Fadnavis added the governor’s request to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to relieve him from the post has nothing to do with the recent controversies over his remarks against state icons.
“He has been requesting retirement from the post for the last few months. He is not keeping well. He has some personal plans to follow. Nobody has asked him to resign from the post. If he wants, he can complete his 5-year term in the post,” he said while speaking at a function.
When asked about the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) criticism that Koshyari belongs to BJP and not Maharashtra, Fadnavis said, “MVA has been targeting Koshyari out of personal vendetta because the latter did not allow their self-willed conduct during their two and half years of government.”
As far as the controversy over his remarks is concerned, he never meant it and never justified it, he added.
Fadnavis said that the BSS-BJP government has no plan to postpone the BMC elections. “The Supreme Court has stayed the entire process of the local body polls. The next hearing is in the first week of February and if allowed the election commission will hold the polls immediately. We do not have any plan to postpone them and even if we decide we have no authority to do so,” he said.
While speaking on the alliance between Shiv Sena (UBT) and Vanchi Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), Fadnavis said that the two parties have come together with the sole intention to oppose the BJP. “But it would not work. The two parties and their leaders have been opposing each other on various issues including the renaming of Marathwada university, and the implementation of the Mandal commission recommendation. People will not accept the alliance and if Prakash Ambedkar (VBA chief) thinks he will get the support of Hindus, he is wrong. Sena has lost its Hindutva base,” he added.
When asked if after his experience aligning with Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde, will there be any surprises in offing with any other leader like Ashok Chavan in the future, Fadnavis said that they are now focusing on good governance. “There are no more surprises remaining in the ongoing year. We are currently concentrating on governance and development projects. We have to put the development, which was halted for the last two and half years, into mission mode. Yes, but in 2024, chief minister Eknath Shinde and I will have some more surprises in 2024,” he said.