Athawale’s open invite to Uddhav Thackeray to form Maharashtra government with NDA

By Sudhir Suryawanshi|

Express News Service |

Published: 20th February 2020 10:39 AM

Maharahtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s decison to hand over the Elgar Parishad case to the NIA has pitted him against MVA allies | PTI

MUMBAI: Union Minister Ramdas Athawale gave an open offer to Shiv Sena president and Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray to form the government with the NDA as the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi faces internal rifts among the coalition partners. The Republican Party of India supremo said the differences among the MVA partners have been cropping up regularly. “The rift in Aghadi is wide and open over handing the Elgar Parishad case probe to the NIA. These differences surfaced in the public domain. And, such dispute will be regular among the Aghadi partners. Therefore, Uddhav Thackeray should divorce Aghadi partners and form the government with BJP and RPI,” he said.

Senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar had also offered Uddhav to form the government with the BJP. BJP president JP Nadda had on record said that the alliance of Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP are unnatural and unholy. “This unholy alliance government will not survive for a long time. It will sooner or later collapse,” Nadda had said. On Wednesday, Athawale said it will be difficult for Uddhav to run the government if the differences continue in Aghadi. “The chief minister has to take the right decision at the right time. Thackeray has to rescind his decision (of being with MVA) to fulfill the dream of late Balasaheb Thackeray and form the government with support of the BJP.”

He defended Uddhav’s decision of handing over the Elgar case probe to NIA. “I must congratulate him for his right decision. It is the right of the central government to hand over the high profile and sensitive cases to NIA. The MVA partners are openly opposing and snubbing the CM over the Elgar Parishad case. This is not good and sets the wrong precedent,” Athawale added.