'Sena w'd have been forewarned had the CM held home portfolio'

Mumbai, June 23 Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has said that then MVA chief minister Uddhav Thackeray was perhaps in the dark about Shiv Sena MLAs deserting the party because he did not have the home portofolio with himself or with the Sena. Chavan said even earlier when the Congress and NCP had formed the democratic front, he had argued for the home portfolio to go to the party to which the Chief Minister belonged. Chavan said this while releasing author -journalist Rasheed Kidwai 's book 'Leaders , Politicians, Citizens' at The Mumbai Press Club.

During the Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan era, the home portfolio was with the NCP. Even in the MVA govt, the NCP had claimed the portfolio. Chavan was of the view that this factor alone robbed Udhav Thackeray an opportunity to have prior info about a section of Sena MLAs leaving for Surat. Chavan also regretted the delay in appointment of new speaker in Maharashtra assembly.

Kidwai's book was released by a panel consisting of Chavan, BJP spokesman Rajiv Pandey, Mumbai Press Club president Ayaz Menon and MPC chairman, Gurbir Singh.

Kidwai's book highlights the role of 50 prominent figures who are no longer in this world. It includes profiles of Indira Gandhi, Balasaheb Thackeray, APJ Abdul Kalam , Sheikh Abdullah , Laldenga, A R Antulay, Motilal Vora, Namdeo Dhasal, Ahmed Patel, Amar Singh, Chandraswami and others.

Kidwai said he considered Indira Gandhi as a fascinating person, someone who imposed emergency, curbed civil rights, and media freedom but restored it by holding the 1977 Lok Sabha polls in which she was defeated three years later, but then she staged a great comeback.