What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
NEW DELHI: In a show of togetherness – also a throwback to their earlier camaraderie when they ran a coalition in Maharashtra – newly appointed Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday told The New Indian that they are ideologically on the same page, a template that will be used for the distribution of portfolios.
“Both the parties are ideologically similar. There is no difference between us regarding the allocation of portfolios,” they told The New Indian.
Scotching rumours of any difference in the distribution of portfolios, they said that they have not discussed the expansion of the cabinet. They said that it will happen soon.
“We have not discussed the expansion of the cabinet during our meeting with BJP leadership. We will discuss the topic once we go back to Mumbai,” Deputy CM Fadnavis said.
CM Shinde and Deputy CM Fadnavis met President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh with BJP president JP Nadda in the capital on Saturday.
CM Shinde said, “We came for a courtesy visit to meet President (Ram Nath) Kovind Ji, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and met with JP Nadda ji.”
“We understand the vision of PM Modi for Maharashtra. During our oath-taking ceremony, he told us ‘Maharashtra ke liye kuch bhi kami nahi hogi, aapko Maharashtra ki janta ke liye jo kuch karna hain karo (Do whatever you want to for the people of Maharashtra), and Central government is with you for the development of Maharashtra,” he added.
On a question about whether the coalition can last the remaining term, Shine said, “The Maharashtra government is strong and we have a total of 165 MLA together while the opposition has just 99. We will not only fulfill the term but also form the next government.”
Fadnavis, who was BJP CM when they had an alliance with Shiv Sena while Shinde worked under him, said, “The BJP party made him (Shinde) the CM and we will abide by the party’s decision.”
“Eknath Shinde is our leader and CM. We will work under him. The injustice was undone and our natural alliance was revived,” Fadnavis said.
While speaking about the party symbol, Shinde said that “We are the Shiv Sena party and the speaker of assembly also recognised us. Some people have approached the court, but we trust the judiciary. We know we are right so we will let the legalities speak. We are in the majority, and the majority is not scared of answering anyone.”
