We’ll return to power in Maha: Fadnavis

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We’ll return to power in Maha: Fadnavis

Sunday, 22 September 2019 | TN RAGHUNATHA | Mumbai

Amid speculation about the differences between the ruling saffron alliance partners over the sharing of Assembly polls, Maharashtra Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday expressed confidence that the BJP and Shiv Sena would soon ink the seat-sharing deal between them and return to power in the State Assembly polls.

Speaking during an interview at India Today conclave, Fadnavis said, “We will have an alliance with the Shiv Sena for sure. The talks on seat sharing are going on. We don’t dictate terms to Shiv Sena. We are friends. We do take decisions in a united manner. There are several aspirants in both the parties and both of them will definitely try to please them till the last moment”

Queried about the possibility of Shiv Sena youth president Aditya Thackeray becoming the deputy chief minister in the event of the saffron alliance returning to power in the state, Fadnavis said: “It is good to see Aaditya Thackeray taking active part in politics. His father or grandfather stayed away from electoral politics. It does not mean he also should follow them. He understands  the  political situation well. After all, he has to take the reins of Shiv Sena one day”.

On the recurring flooding in Mumbai during the monsoon months, the chief minister said: “Mumbai’s infrastructure is improving. In monsoon, the water gets logged if there is heavy rain at the time of high tide. We need 8 pumping stations to drain out the water at the time of raining. At present, we have completed five. The earlier government used to delay the environment clearances for these projects”

Alluding to the protests against locating metro carshed at Aarey, Fadnavis said: “The area of Aarey where the metro car shed to planned does not have any bio-diversity and forest. The High Court, National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court as well have ruled that it is a non-forest land....”

“We have planted 23,000 trees in Aarey and have planned to plant 1200 more. The metro will mitigate 2.50 lakh tonnes of carbon once it is operational. Otherwise we need 2 crore fully grown trees to mitigate that much carbon,” he said.

“I respect the environment activists. But some of them are trying to give benefit of Rs 5,000 crore to a private land holder by demanding sifting of metro car shed from Aarey Milk Colony. There were 13,000 objections to the metro car shed in Aarey. Out of them, 10,000 were registered from a Bengaluru-based website,” the chief minister said.

On the Maharashtra government’s plans to deal with recurring drought in the state, the chief minister said: “We have planned water grid for the drought affected areas. The work will be completed in four years. We will lift 167 TMC water from Konkan and will release it in Godavari basin through tunnel. Similarly, we will divert 100 TMC water to Vidarbha which otherwise flows to Telangana”.

In reply to a question on NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Fadnavis said: “I won’t be another Sharad Pawar. The era of his politics is over. People don’t like his style of politics”

When his attention was drawn to the allegation that he had misused his office to benefit Axis bank in which his wife Amruta is working, Fadnavis said: “The allegation that I transferred police department’s accounts to Axis Bank because my wife works there is baseless. I got married to Amruta in November 2005. The accounts of police department were transferred to Axis Bank in March 2005. I did not know that time I will become Chief Minister someday”

Replying to another question, the chief minister said: “RSS does not work to make someone Chief Minister or Prime Minister. It works towards making India strong.

There is no vacancy for the PM’s post at present and in future also. If the party asks me to move to Delhi as minister or in the party organization or go to Nagpur I will abide by the decision as a disciplined worker”.

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