Chavan kicks off row, BJP asks Sena to come clean

Mumbai: Former chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said that Shiv Sena should clarify on Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan’s statement that the Uddhav Thackeray-led party had proposed to form a coalition government with Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) after the 2014 Vidhan Sabha polls to stop the BJP from coming to power in the state.

The Shiv Sena has made it clear that it was not aware of any such proposal.

Mr Chavan had kicked up a political storm in the state on Sunday by claiming that Shiv Sena had made a proposal to form the government in Maharashtra in alliance with the Congress and NCP way back in 2014.

Mr Fadnavis, now Leader of Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha, said Mr Chavan’s remarks were very surprising and revealed the ‘true face’ of his former ally. “What Chavan has said is very surprising. Coming from someone of his stature, it has to be taken seriously. The disclosure has revealed the real face of the Shiv Sena. The Shiv Sena should come out with a clarification,” he said in Delhi.

However, senior Sena leader Anil Parab said that he was unaware of any such proposal. “It is not known who gave Prithviraj Chavan the proposal and when? The names of those who were present for the negotiations while giving the proposal should be disclosed. Only Mr Chavan can give more details,” he said.

Senior NCP leader Nawab Malik too said that there was no such proposal from the Shiv Sena. “The Shiv Sena might have spoken with Prithviraj Chavan, but there were never such talks with the NCP. The Congress is a different party and it might have received a proposal,” he said.

Mr Chavan had said that even after the 2019 Assembly election, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was not ready for a coalition with the Shiv Sena, but she eventually relented after long deliberations.