Devendra Fadnavis meets PM Modi, Shah, says politics not on the agenda

Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. FILE PIC

Amid political speculations, Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the pandemic and political situation in Maharashtra on Friday.

The PM-Fadnavis meeting was one-on-one while a delegation of BJP's sugar cooperative barons accompanied the former CM during deliberations with Shah. Fadnavis and other leaders also visited union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar and the union minister for consumer affairs, food and civil supplies Ram Vilas Paswan.

Though fairly long meetings with Modi and Shah happened in the backdrop of the political crisis in Rajasthan and the projections that Maharashtra's Maha Vikas Aghadi government will meet the same fate sooner or later, Fadnavis denied a political agenda behind the visit, which happened after many months.

"Whatever the rumours, but let me tell you that we are not interested in pulling the Maharashtra government down because it's a government of contradictions which will fall on its own. We will do what can be done the day the government breaks down. As of now, there is no Operation Lotus-like thing planned," said the ex-CM.

'Where else can we go?'

"We came here to meet our leaders and we are sure that our very own government will help us with whatever we have asked for. Where else can we go?" Fadnavis said, adding that his party wanted to fight the COVID-19 together with all others. The leader has toured the state to assess the pandemic and pointed out shortcomings of the Uddhav Thackeray government.

Sources said that he has made a comprehensive report for the PMO and ministry of home affairs, which supervises the nation-wide disaster management measures. Fadnavis said the primary purpose of the visit was to seek help from the Centre for the farmers' sugar cooperatives because this year, a bumper sugarcane crop was expected.
"The farmers must get a minimum support price (MSP) and the industry should also run efficiently. We demanded a package for the sector which included an increased MSP, restructuring of loan and availability of soft loan. Mr Shah and the ministers responded very positively."

Sources said the BJP expects to derive a political advantage by projecting the sugar cooperative leaders, mostly turncoats from the NCP and Congress, from Western Maharashtra where it didn't do well in the Assembly polls last year.

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