Nagpur/Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has publicly snubbed his alliance partner Ajit Pawar for speaking against the BJP’s ‘batenge to katenge’ slogan. Saying it will take some time for the NCP (AP) leader to understand the mood of the public, Fadnavis added Ajit Pawar’s understanding was still influenced by his former allies.
In an interview with a news agency, Fadnavis said Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar stayed with anti-Hindu allies for a long time and it will take time for him to understand. “For decades, Ajit Pawar has stayed with such ideologies which are secular and anti-Hindu. There is no real secularism amongst those who call themselves secularists. He has stayed with people for whom opposing Hindutva is secularism. There is no real secularism among those who call themselves secular,” Fadnavis told the news agency.
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Thursday 19 Dec. 2024
Fadnavis said these people either did not understand the slogan or they probably wanted to say something else. The BJP leader said he did not find anything wrong with the slogan coined by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during rallies in Maharashtra.
The Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) leader had categorically dismissed Adityanath’s slogan saying it did not reflect Maharashtra’s politics. “We all opposed it. Not just my NCP leaders and I, but even Pankaja Munde and Poonam Mahajan opposed,” Pawar said.
Referring to Yogi Adityanath, Pawar said, “Some other state’s Chief Minister comes and issues a call of ‘batenge to katenge’… We told him that this is not UP. This might work in the North, but not in Maharashtra. We abide by the principles of Ambedkar,” the news agency quoted him saying.
BJP leader and former minister Pankaja Munde had also opposed the slogan. “Frankly speaking, my politics is different. I won’t support it just because I belong to the BJP. My belief is we should work on development. There is no need for such an issue in Maharashtra,” Pankaja had said.
On Thursday, Fadnavis said those opposing the slogan, including Ashok Chavan and Pankaja Munde, have failed to understand the “core” meaning. “I believe they have not understood the core message of the slogan. ‘Batenge to katenge’ means everyone has to stick together. The Prime Minister has succinctly said ‘ek hai to safe hai’,” another news agency reported quoting Fadnavis. The Deputy CM added the slogan is also against the appeasement politics of Congress.
Ashok Chavan, who joined the BJP in February after resigning from the Congress, said that the slogan has no relevance and is not in good taste. “I don’t think people will appreciate it. Personally speaking, I am not in favour of such a slogan,” he said.
