Mumbai: Putting all rumours to rest, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday told party workers that neither he nor the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit chief Raosaheb Danve were going anywhere (Delhi).
Speaking to party workers at a meeting, Mr Fadnavis said, “Neither I nor Raosaheb Danve will go anywhere. Our government is here to stay till 2019. Nobody can pull it down. Only if we decide to go for elections, otherwise nothing will happen till 2019.”
The CM attacked the Congress and NCP over their misgovernance in the past. “People have rejected the opposition parties. But the battle is of perception. We need to reach every voter to counter the propaganda against us,” Mr Fadnavis said.
Taking cognisance of media reports on farmer suicides in the state, the CM blamed the opposition for not providing basic infrastructure to farmers in the past 15 years.
“They looted farmers for 15 years. Various farmer welfare schemes from irrigation to investment in agriculture were riddled with corruption. Now, we have changed the situation. The farmers are with us now," Mr Fadnavis said.
However, the opposition parties labelled the CM's speech as a 'reflection of frustration'. "The CM spent a lot time levelling allegations against us instead of concentrating on good governance. It is nothing but frustration," said Nawab Malik, NCP spokesperson. Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said the CM's speech was an attempt to hide failures of the BJP government. "The CM talks about loan waiver scheme, but not a single farmer has received benefits of the scheme." Mr Sawant said.
Mr Fadnavis lambasted the farmer's core committee over its threats of not allowing ministers to hoist the tricolour in different districts. "How can they say like this? To hoist the flag we are ready to give up power," the CM said.
Talking about the Maratha morcha, the CM said that a total 58 rallies took place in state. "The Maratha community silently showed its power via an ideal agitation. Few leaders tried to take political benefits out of it but the community rejected them," he said.
The CM appealed party workers to be ready for the 2019 polls. "We have won all elections in recent time, but the big battle is ahead in 2019. We will have to form a booth level committee. I will myself form one booth and look after it. There will be internal app where information of booth forming and other activities will be collected," Mr Fadnavis said.
