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The speculation that all was not well within the ruling coalition came to fore after NCP chief Sharad Pawar's questioned BMC's decision to demolish illegal alterations at Kangana Ranaut's Bandra bungalow
Even as the Bombay High Court stayed the demolition drive at actor Kangana Ranaut's Bandra bungalow in Mumbai, the episode has caused some heartburn within the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which consists of the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress, according to reports.
Speculation that all was not well within the ruling coalition came to fore after NCP chief Sharad Pawar questioned the Sena-controlled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) decision to raze the structure.
"I don’t know if there was anything illegal (about the office)…It won’t be appropriate to comment on this without having proper information. Illegal construction isn’t a new thing in Mumbai. In view of the prevalent situation, BMC’s actions give space to raise doubt in people’s minds. However, BMC has its own rules and officers may have found it appropriate to take action," Pawar had said.
He added that 'undue importance' has been given to some statements, although he did not name Sena or Ranaut. "We are giving undue importance to those making such statements. We will have to see what influence such statements have on the people at large," Pawar said, adding that people do not take such statements seriously.
Pawar was talking about Ranaut's statement comparing Mumbai to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and saying that she did not feel safe in the city. Following this, Sena spokesperson and Member of Parliament (MP) in Rajya Sabha, Sanjay Raut, had asked her to leave the city. Ranaut was then granted Y security by the Centre.
Sources, however, state that the Ranaut episode is just one of the flashpoints between the three allies, which had in recent days displayed unity in taking on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has mounted an attack on the Maharashtra government and Mumbai Police over their handling of the Sushant Singh Rajput case.
According to an Indian Express report, discontent among the allies has been brimming for some months now, with Sena's Parbhani MP Sanjay Jadhav threatening to quit as a lawmaker over what he alleged was NCP's interference in appointments to the Agriculture Produce Market Committee and Raut blaming, indirectly, the state's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar for spike in COVID-19 cases in Pune.
Congress isn't far behind, either, with the party's senior leader and former Mumbai chief Milind Deora tweeting that he was 'appalled' as a "Mumbaikar with the state of affairs in the economic capital of India."
"Maharashtra is COVID-19's ground zero. Instead of focusing on governance, we’re busy settling political scores. Time for all parties to come together and set our priorities right," Deora tweeted.
A coalition leader, while admitting that there are 'disagreements' over certain issues within the MVA, said these are "very local issues which have nothing to do with the Kangana Ranaut episode."
"Every coalition government faces some issues over the course of its term. We are three big parties in Maharashtra, things like disagreements are bound to take place and the Opposition will try to amp it up, but that doesn't mean the government is threatened or anything," the leader told Moneycontrol.