‘No one objected to Fadanvis for CM’: Major takeaways from Amit Shah’s interview
Breaking his silence on Maharastra logjam, BJP president and Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that no one objected when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he publicly said that Devendra Fadnavis would be the Chief Minister if the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance wins the Assembly polls in Maharashtra.
‘No one objected to Fadanvis for CM’
Speaking to ANI exclusively here today, Shah, when asked to comment on the collapse of the alliance in Maharashtra, said: "Before elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and I said many times in public that if our alliance wins, then Devendra Fadnavis will be the CM. No one objected back then. Now they have come up with new demands which are not acceptable to us."
"Nobody contradicted it. Now some new conditions have come up. We have reservations on this and the party will take a decision at an appropriate time," he said.
‘No state was given so much time’
In reply to another question related to the time given for the formation of government in the state, Shah said: "Before this, in no state was so much time given. 18 days were given. The Governor invited parties only after the Assembly's tenure ended. Neither Shiv Sena nor Congress-NCP staked claim and neither we. Even if today any party has numbers, it can approach the Governor."
‘Sena wanted certain things’
"We were ready to form the government with the Shiv Sena. But there were certain things of Shiv Sena we could not have agreed," he said.
‘BJP hurt most by president’s rule’
"I only want to say that the ruckus over the President's Rule is a meaningless exercise to gain public sympathy and nothing else," he said.
Shah also took a dig at the Congress over its allegations that the President's Rule was imposed in a hurry and its ally NCP was not given enough time to show the majority.
"Probably they do not ask their allies," he said.
‘No point waiting 8:30 PM’
Shah said that between 11.30 am and 12 noon on Tuesday, the NCP expressed its inability to form the government by writing a letter to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari that they cannot form government till the time given of 8.30 pm.
"After that, there was no point of the President waiting till 8.30 pm," he said.
Asked if more time was given for the government formation in Goa and Arunachal Pradesh, he said nowhere more time was given.
‘Parties had 18 days’
He said political parties in Maharashtra had eighteen days after the declaration of results to show that they have a majority.
"After the assembly notification, the Governor waited for 18 days," he said, adding that no party or parties came forward to stake the claim to form the government.
"Any party could have approached the Governor. The time to give invitation came after the term of assembly ended (on November 9)," he said.
He said the Governor has to take action after the term of assembly ends and he asked different parties.
"Once assembly is notified, any party or alliance can go to the Governor. What the Governor could have done. Everyone has been given time," he said.
"Even today if someone has a majority, they can contact the Governor and stake the claim," he said.
The Home Minister said the Assembly has not been dissolved but kept in suspended animation.
He said allegations could have been made if the assembly was dissolved.
What will happen after six months?
Asked what would happen after president's rule ends in six months, Shah said he did not want midterm elections in Maharashtra.
"I do not want re-election in Maharashtra. After the completion of the six-month period, the Governor will take legal opinion and take the constitutional step. Those who say that imposing president's rule was unconstitutional, I would like to tell them that they still have their rights. They just do not have the required numbers. If they have numbers, then they can go and form the government," the BJP president outlined.
