Maha Aghadi unnatural alliance: Fadnavis

Pune: Terming the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra as an "unnatural alliance," BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the day this tie-up breaks, his party will give a strong government to the state. Till that time, the BJP will work honestly as a strong opposition and it is not eyeing any shift in power in the state, Fadnavis said at a press conference in Solapur.

Such governments, like MVA which comprises the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, have not lasted long in the country or state and this government is no exception, the leader of opposition in the state Assembly said. "The day this unnatural alliance breaks, we will give a strong government to this state, but till that time, we will remain in the opposition," he said. Asked if the BJP is eyeing a shift in power in Maharashtra after win in the Bihar Assembly polls, Fadnavis denied it, saying, "We are in the opposition (in Maharashtra), and we are playing the role of a strong opposition honestly."

On the Uddhav Thackeray-led government's intention to inquire into the outstanding power bills during the previous BJP-led dispensation, Fadnavis said if the state government starts an inquiry, it "will fall on its own face". "My point is why to inquire about our five years, why not last 20 years (five of BJP and 15 of Congress-NCP rule), because it was not our government which gave birth to the power utility company. Whatever legacy they have given us, we took it ahead," he said. Fadnavis claimed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government is adding the outstanding bills of 15 years (of Congress-NCP rule) to the figures of the last BJP-led regime.

"Yes, we had some outstanding bills, but it was because we took a decision not to cut electricity connections of farmers," he said. On the contrary, the present state government has an attitude of a "money lender" and is resorting to tactics of forcible recovery of power bills, he alleged. He also criticised the state government for not providing relief to consumers who complained of receiving inflated power bills during the lockdown.

The BJP leader claimed the MVA government is so "incompetent" that if there is no strong opposition, it will exploit the common man. Asked about the Enforcement Directorate's raid on Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik's premises in Maharashtra in a money laundering case, Fadnavis said the probe agency must be having some complaints or material.

"The ED will not raid without any ground. I cannot comment on it as I do not have any information about it. "But I would like to say that if anyone has not done anything wrong, there is no need to be scared, and if there is a wrongdoing, any agency can initiate action," he said. Former BJP leader Eknath Khadse, who joined the NCP, last month, recently said he will not cowed down by threats of probe agencies.

"If you have ED, I have the CD," Khadse said. When asked about it, Fadnavis said, "Why wait for the EDs action. If he has a CD with him, he should release it immediately." Leader of opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council Pravin Darekar said if the Shiv Sena can take action against actress Kangana Ranaut when she was not in her office, the party should not complain about the ED's action against Sarnaik, who is abroad.

"The ED takes its course of action (irrespective of the person)," Darekar said. BJP MP Narayan Rane also hit out that Sarnaik, saying "he is not a saint". "You should gather information about Sarnaik before calling it (ED's action) vendetta politics," he said. PTI