A day after Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis claimed that he was offered the chief minister’s post by the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray during the rebellion by the Eknath Shinde-led faction in June 2022, Sena (UBT) Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut on Saturday said Fadnavis was trying to create “sensationalism” and “confusion” among people.
However, did not reject Fadnavis’ claim.
During an interview with a news channel, when Fadnavis was asked whether Thackeray had contacted him during the rebellion, urged him to forget the past and said the Sena was ready to join hands with the BJP, the deputy CM had said, “Yes, I was contacted… but I replied that we have moved forward. I was told that whatever has happened has happened, now you become the chief minister. I made it clear that the moment had passed… I am not the one who will betray… Now these people (Shinde faction) had come with us and we cannot ditch them. When they have rebelled and joined hands with us, we cannot betray them… This cannot be part of our politics. And that is why I refused it…”.
Raut did not deny that the Sena had established communication with Fadnavis during Shinde’s rebellion. “Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister then and Devendra Fadnavis the opposition leader. What is wrong when two leaders communicate… He must have spoken to Fadnavis…,” he said.
Asked whether the chief minister’s post was offered to Fadnavis, Raut said, “Fadnavis is trying to create sensationalism and create confusion among people. In politics, people discuss their respective stands… When two leaders communicate and discuss certain issues, what is the point of sensationalising the discussion?”
Raut said Fadnavis was trying to draw attention towards himself as he had failed to become the chief minister. “Every day, he is trying to stir up some sensationalism in a bid to draw attention towards himself. He could not become the chief minister but now, as the deputy chief minister, he is trying to assert his importance,” he added.
Fadnavis had earlier claimed that after the 2019 Assembly elections, when he had tried to contact Thackeray to form the government, the latter had refused to even take his calls.
Meanwhile, NCP leader Ajit Pawar said on Friday that the NCP or the Congress had never made any attempts to decimate the Shiv Sena (UBT), unlike the BJP. “Everyone knows who took MLAs to Surat and Guwahati. Everyone knows who broke the Shiv Sena… In fact, Uddhav Thackeray himself has said the Congress and NCP helped the Shiv Sena in difficult times while its own partner of 25 years stabbed the Sena in the back,” said Pawar.
