Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik on Sunday stated that his party - Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)- will welcome the Bhartiya Janta Party's move if its results in the creation of a single country by merging India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Malik said this in response to a statement that Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis had made.
Earlier on Sunday, Fadnavis had said to the press, "We are the people who believe in an 'Akhand Bharat'... We believe Karachi will one day be a part of India."
When asked to comment on this statement by the Former Chief Minister, Malik said, "The way Devendra ji has said that time will come Karachi will be the part of India. We have been saying that India, Pakistan and Bangladesh should be merged. If the Berlin wall can be demolished then why not India, Pakistan and Bangladesh can come together? If BJP wishes to merge these three countries and make a single country, we will welcome it definitely".
Malik also said that now NCP also wants to contest in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections along with its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government partners - Shiv Sena and Indian National Congress.
Malik said, "It is still 15 months left for the BMC election. Every party has the right to work for their party, and every party is doing so. We are also strengthening our party. We would want that those who are running the government all three parties should contest polls together".
The Maharashtra government minister also said that the state won't be going into another lockdown as there is no longer any need for it.
Malik added, "Our Aarogya secretariat has sent an advisory to every district that we have to be prepared in the view of the second wave of COVID-19. We have been successful in containing coronavirus. Cases in some states are increasing and they have imposed restrictions. This is not the condition in Maharashtra. There is no such type of situation in Maharashtra that we need to impose lockdown".