CM’s absence in session is nothing new: Danve

Nagpur: Union minister of state for railways Raosaheb Danve said while Maharashtra’s assembly session is going ahead without the chief minister’s physical presence, it was not something new as Uddhav Thackeray was not attending Mantralaya either.
“I pray to God that the CM recovers quickly and he can go back to serving the people. But his absence is not something that’s new. Thackeray was not present at Mantralaya either, so this is something which people are used to,” said Danve, who was in the city on Wednesday.
He reiterated that this remark must not be seen as a criticism of the CM’s health. “No one in BJP will ever utter anything against Thackeray’s health. We all want him to get better,” said Danve.
However, apart from the ‘disclaimer’, Danve did not spare Thackeray from political attack. “Ever since he became the CM, we have hardly seen him on the field — be it election campaigning or party work. The issue is that this government is formed of three political parties and they do not want to take any decision. So in such a situation, it does not matter if the CM comes to office or not,” said Danve.
He refuted allegations that the PM too is not ‘visible’ in the Parliament. “Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi is coming to the House. But now opposition must stop creating hurdles in smooth functioning of the House,” said Danve.
On a host of other issues, Danve first took up the Aadhaar card and voter ID linking subject. “The central government wants only genuine voters cast their ballot. We want to get rid of bogus voters and ensure an even more transparent election,” said Danve.
On a recent statement by a right wing leader which mentioned Hyderabad as Bhagyanagar, Danve said, “We feel that the name given by conquerors from outside should be done away with. That’s why we strongly support that Aurangabad be called Sambhaji Nagar.”