Maharashtra Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Jayant Patil on Wednesday said his party has never tried to disturb the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress. Patil's statement came after Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole launched a scathing attack on the NCP for joining hands with rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to elect the president of the Gondia Zilla Parishad.
In a statement, the Maharashtra Water Resources Minister said that it would be appropriate to speak only after seeing the circumstances under which the decision to join hands with the saffron party was taken. He added that there might be differences between local leaders and the party will take note of this. He further said that there are many local body elections coming up and that the local leadership is expected to work together to bring the MVA to power.
Earlier, Patole said the NCP has stabbed Congress in the back. "NCP has stabbed us in the back. If NCP wants enmity, do it from the front, we are ready for it. Maharashtra govt is formed by 3 parties (Shiv Sena, NCP & Congress) under Common Minimum Program," Patole told reporters.
Patole also took to Twitter and wrote in Marathi, "After extending a hand of friendship, NCP is backstabbing us."
What happened in Gondia?
Breaking the MVA alliance code, the NCP joined hands with rival BJP to elect the president of the Gondia Zilla Parishad on Tuesday, keeping the Congress away from power with the backing of Independents and a local outfit.
BJP’s Pankaj Rahangdale was elected as the president and NCP’s Yashwant Gunvir as the vice-president.
In the 53-member Gondia ZP, the BJP has 26 members, Congress 13, NCP 6, Janata ki Party 4, and two independents.
