BJP isolated over Nanar, no moral authority to rule: Chavan

Nagpur: Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Thursday said the Devendra Fadnavis government has lost the moral authority to continue ruling the state as its alliance partner Shiv Sena too joined the Opposition in the well of the state legislature to protest over the proposed Nanar refinery being planned on the Konkan coast.
“The BJP stands isolated now on the setting up of the refinery,” he told the media outside the Vidhan Sabha. The Congress and the NCP members were seeking scrapping of the refinery plan and the Sena members did not hesitate to join the protest. “This is a clear indication that the Fadnavis government is now in a minority,” Chavan added.

Chavan also pointed out that there are lot of Pakistani nationals working in Saudi Arabian companies including Aramco which has stakes in the Nanar project. “Will the Maharashtra government allow the Pakistani engineers to work in Konkan,” he asked.

Accusing the Fadnavis government of being adamant and going ahead with the plans under pressure from the Narendra Modi government at the Centre which wants to favour Aramco to establish the plant in India, Chavan said the project should be shifted to any other state like Gujarat or Rajasthan.

“If people are not permitting the project to be in Konkan, the project should be shifted,” he said.

On Thursday, as soon as the lower house assembled in the morning, leader of opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil raised the Konkan refinery issue and said that 17 villages from the project site has opposed the project. “The government however has forcibly started acquiring land by hook or crook. We will not let the project be imposed on the people of Konkan. The business in the lower house would not be allowed to continue unless the government announces the cancellation of the project,” he said, adding that the government was hiding vital facts regarding the refinery plans.

NCP legislator from Konkan Bhaskar Jadhav pointed out that two projects — thermal power and refinery — would be in 1.03km aerial distance which could be dangerous for the lives of “Konkan people as well as for neighbouring Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara districts” in case of any untoward incident.

Meanwhile, the Congress party meeting held in the city on Thursday evening in the presence of state president Ashok Chavan saw factions led by Nitin Raut and those close to Satish Chaturvedi staying away.