Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP leader Narayan Rane, former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis during the inauguration of the SSPM Lifetime Medical College at Sindhudurg district, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021. (PTI Photo) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday described the Maharashtra government as a “three-wheeler” that had failed as each wheel was pulling in a direction. The state government was an outcome of an “unholy alliance” and a “betrayal of the mandate given by the people”, he said.
On Sunday, Shah arrived at Sindhudurg in Konkan region to inaugurate a medical college and hospital built by BJP Rajya Sabha member Narayan Rane.
Speaking at the function, Shah let it be known that the bitter falling out with Shiv Sena after the 2019 elections, which deprived the BJP of forming the government in MAharashtra, was still fresh in his mind. Directing his attack against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Shah said he had never made any promise to the Shiv Sena for sharing of CM post during the 2019 polls.
“I want to tell the Shiv Sena that I don’t do politics in closed rooms. Whatever I do, I do openly and in public. I speak clearly and without fear, ” he said.
The Sena had accused Shah of breaking his promised that the CM post would be shared between the BJP and Sena for equal terms. The Sena had also alleged that the promise was made during a closed-door meeting between Shah and Thackeray when they finalised the pre-poll talks ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
“We don’t speak lies. To the contrary we have always gone out of the way to honour our commitments with our allies,” Shah said, pointing at the Bihar Assembly polls — held a year after the BJP’s bitter experience in Maharashtra — in which the BJP had promised to make Nitish Kumar the CM and kept its commitment even after getting more seats than the JD(U).
According to Shah, the Sena betrayed the BJP for “greed of power” as the mandate was for a BJP-Sena alliance led by Devendra Fadnavis. He described the Mahavikas Aghadi coalition as a three wheeler. “Maharashtra has a three wheeler auto rickshaw government, in which all three wheels are pulling in different directions. This government has failed on all fronts,” he said.
While hailing the Centre over handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, Shah said India was supplying vaccines to 14 countries. The death rates in the country were lower and recovery rates higher compared globally, he said.