No intention of joining hands with Shiv Sena Fadnavis

    Mumbai, Sep 27 (PTI) Former Maharashtra chief minister
Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday asserted that the BJP has no
intention of joining hands with the Shiv Sena or to bring down
the Uddhav Thackeray-led state government.
    Talking to reporters here, Fadnavis claimed people of
the state are "unhappy" with the performance of the Shiv
Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and it "would
collapse due to its own inactions".
    The senior BJP leader also said his meeting with Shiv
Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday, which prompted speculation in
political circles, was regarding an interview for the Sena
mouthpiece 'Saamana'.
    The Shiv Sena snapped ties with the BJP last year
after the Maharashtra Assembly polls over the issue of sharing
the chief ministerial post.
    The Uddhav Thackeray-led party then joined hands with
the NCP and the Congress to form MVA government in the state.
    "We have no intention of joining hands with the Shiv
Sena or to bring down the government. When it falls on its
own, we will see," said Fadnavis, who is the leader of
opposition in the state Assembly.
    "My meeting with Raut had no political connotations.
He asked me for an interview to 'Saamana', to which I agreed.
But, I had put my conditions- like the interview should be
unedited and I should get to put my own camera during the
interview. So we met to discuss its nitty-gritties," he said.
    Meanwhile, Raut, who also spoke to reporters here
separately, said he and Fadnavis are not enemies and Chief
Minister Uddhav Thackeray was aware of the meeting which was
pre-planned to discuss the interview schedule.
    However, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam criticised
Raut, alleging that he was in a hurry to grab headlines.
    "When that happens, political careers end. This is not
my ill-wish for Raut, but a reality," the former Mumbai
Congress chief told PTI.
    Nirupam, who has been sulking since his removal from
the post of Mumbai Congress chief ahead of the Lok Sabha polls
last year, said if the party is serious about opposing the new
farm bills passed by Parliament,it should first ask the
ruling Shiv Sena in Maharashtra to spell out its stand.
    The Congress and the NCP say they will not allow
implementation of the new laws in Maharashtra, while Chief
Minister Thackeray hasn't uttered a word on it, he said.
    "The Shiv Sena supported the farm bills in the Lok
Sabha,while it staged a walkout from the RajyaSabha when
other opposition parties were demanding a vote on it," Nirupam
said, adding that farmers in Maharashtra are confused (over
the state government's stand). PTI MR
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)