Narayan Rane, who left Congress recently to form his own party, has joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has repeatedly hinted at his induction into the Cabinet.
Former minister and veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader Eknath Khadse, who had to step down following graft charges, vented out at the party leadership for offering ministerial berth to a 'selfless' leader like Narayan Rane and ignoring those who spent their lives for the party. Khadse was speaking at a function in Dhule on Monday in the presence of BJP's national vice-president Shyam Jaju.
Narayan Rane, who left Congress recently to form his own party, has joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has repeatedly hinted at his induction into the Cabinet. BJP's ally, Shiv Sena, has already expressed its displeasure by pointing out that Rane is facing an inquiry by the Enforcement Directorate; it has reportedly even threatened to walk out of the alliance in case he is inducted into the Cabinet.
Khadse has been itching to get back into the Cabinet but party leadership has been non-committal. He used Jaju's presence to convey his displeasure — that a traitor like Rane gets preference over a loyal party servant."There are very few leaders who are alive and know the black days of the Emergency. However, such leaders have been assigned the job of training and guidance,'' Khadse said, equating himself with senior party leaders such as LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi who have been moved to BJP's Margdarshak Mandal — a ceremonial body meant to be a repository of party wisdom and memory.
Khadse's rant didn't go unnoticed; barely a few hours after his outburst, Fadnavis told a TV channel that the one-man Dinkar Zoting Commission had submitted its report on allegations of graft and conflict of interest in a land deal made by Khadse and his family in Bhosari within Pune district. He also declared that the government would table the report in the state legislature. He remained silent on Khadse's reinstatement in the Cabinet during the ensuing expansion.
On the other hand, State revenue minister Chandrakant Patil, considered the number two minister in the Fadnavis-led cabinet, said he would be happy to see Khadse back in the Cabinet.
However, a BJP leader (who did not wish to be named) told DNA that Khadse's wait for his re-entry into the state Cabinet was getting longer as two public interest litigations filed by Pune-based activist Hemant Gawande, a whistle-blower in the Bhosari land deal case, and another by activist Anjali Damania were pending in the Bombay high court.
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