'Amit Shah Didn't Propose...': Union Minister Ramdas Athawale Refutes Uddhav's 'Split-CM' Claim In Maharashtra

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale said no deal for sharing of chief-ministership in Maharashtra for a period of 2.5 years was struck between Shiv Sena and BJP.

Union Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment Ramdas Athawale.

Source : PTI

New Delhi: Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Sunday dismissed Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray’s claim that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had reached an agreement for split chief-ministership between Thackeray and BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis in Maharashtra in 2019, news agency PTI reported. Speaking to PTI, the Republican Party of India (A) chief said no such deal for sharing of chief-ministership for a period of 2.5 years was struck.

“Shiv Sena wanted the chief minister’s post for 2.5 years. I had advised the two sides (BJP and Shiv Sena) to resolve this issue, but that didn't happen. Yes, but Amit Shah didn't propose the '2.5-year CM formula',” PTI quoted the Union Minister as saying.

VIDEO | "Shiv Sena wanted the CM's post for 2.5 years. I had advised the two sides (BJP and Shiv Sena) to resolve this issue, but that didn't happen. Yes, but Amit Shah didn't propose the '2.5-year CM formula'," says Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Uddhav Thackeray's claim that… pic.twitter.com/E6vGMGJznf

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His remarks come hours after Thackeray said had the saffron party respected the "decision" taken before the 2019 Maharashtra elections on sharing the chief ministerial post, they wouldn’t have had to seek the support of other parties now.  

"BJP should stop levelling allegations against others and handle those they have taken along with them. I do not think the BJP deserves anything to be said about it. It has no right to preach us. I am just waiting to see how the BJP handles the new riff-raffs,” PTI quoted Thackeray as saying.

Athawale claimed further that NCP veteran Sharad Pawar maybe staring at a fate similar to Uddhav’s in the wake of the split in undivided Shiv Sena last year.

He said the NCP patriarch could even have got a berth in the Union cabinet had he decided to go with the BJP-led NDA.

Weighing in on Ajit Pawar’s recent switch over to the NDA government in Maharashtra, the Union Minister told PTI, “Like Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar's bad days have started. If he (Sharad Pawar) had allied (with the BJP-led NDA), he could have got a ministerial berth at the Centre or might have even become a candidate for the presidential post.”