The ongoing tussle between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Leader of the Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil over the alleged ₹1,767-crore Navi Mumbai land scam reached boiling point in the Assembly on Thursday, with the CM demanding Mr. Vikhe-Patil’s resignation. The Opposition has termed it the “most anti-democratic demand ever”.
As both the leaders engaged in a war of words, Mr. Fadnavis refuted all the allegations levelled against him. At the end of his speech, he said that not only would he not resign from the CM’s post, but also that Mr. Vikhe-Patil should quit for making false allegations against him.
“Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others. I don’t stay inside a glass house, but know how to respond to the stones hurled at me. The Leader of the Opposition should resign for making these allegations,” Mr. Fadnavis said.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said the ruling party demanding the Opposition leader’s resignation was one of the most anti-democratic things that could have happened. “The Opposition has every right to question the ruling party and demand [the CM’s] resignation. But raising one’s voice against the ruling party is now leading to a demand for the Opposition leader’s resignation. This is anti-democracy,” Mr. Pawar said.
The NCP leader said no previous chief minister had ever made such a demand, no matter how grave the allegations against them. “If the CM wants to probe something, he can. But diverting attention to different issues is absolutely wrong,” Mr. Pawar said.
Mr. Vikhe-Patil, too, questioned the CM’s statement, calling it an open violation of constitutional rights extended to Opposition parties. “We have always been complaining about the authoritarian behaviour of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the State and Centre, and the CM’s statement just proves the point,” he said.