Shiv Sena earlier threatened to quit alliance if BJP brought resolution for a separate Vidarbha state. However Fadnavis said that there is no proposal as of this moment before the Government.
BJP ally Shiv Sena on Tuesday expressed satisfaction over Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' statement on unified Maharashtra in the Assembly and maintained it will not support any Opposition-sponsored resolution on the issue.
The junior ally in the BJP-led Government said it was committed to a united Maharashtra and would not hesitate to quit the ruling coalition if there was any deviation from the stand enunciated in the House.
"If BJP plans to bring a resolution for a separate Vidarbha state, the Sena stand will be to oppose it. The Sena is committed towards a undivided Maharashtra," party leader and Minister for Public Works Department Eknath Shinde said. "The Sena is satisfied with the Chief Minister's statement on unified Maharashtra and it will not support any unofficial resolution (by Opposition)," he clarified.
Fadnavis said in the Assembly "there is no proposal as of this moment before the Government" for creation of a separate Vidarbha State and disfavoured discussing the issue in the House, where it had not been listed. The Opposition demanded in the Legislative Council the Chief Minister move a motion putting it unambiguously clear bifurcation of the State was not on his Government's agenda.
Earlier in the day the, Opposition Congress and NCP taunted the Uddhav Thackeray-led party for doing a "U turn" on its anti-Vidarbha statehood issue. The Sena's "tiger" (the party's emblem) has turned into a "lamb" over the issue. No sooner did Fadnavis make the statement in the Assembly, senior Sena Ministers Diwakar Raote, Subhash Desai and Ramdas Kadam rushed to meet party President Uddhav Thackeray at his `Matoshri' residence in Bandra. Later in the afternoon, Sena Ministers held talks with senior Congress-NCP members in Vidhan Bhavan complex. Congress member and former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan met Kadam in the latter's chamber, sources said.
The meetings were held to decide on the strategy to corner the BJP over the statehood issue, they said. Congress MLC Sanjay Dutt, in a tweet, wanted to know if the Sena is more concerned about remaining in power or keeping Maharashtra united.
Although the Congress, Sena leaders met over the Vidarbha issue, Shinde remarked "Congress-NCP need not teach Sena about unified Maharashtra. If need be, the Sena shall pull out of the Government. For the sake of unified Maharashtra the Sena will go to any lengths." Shinde, speaking to newspersons at Vidhan Bhavan, said there has been no change in the Sena's long-held stand opposing any division of Maharashtra.
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