New Delhi [India], December 3 : Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that he has time to watch a film, but his government flees when asked to talk about the Adani indictment issue.
"Prime Minister has the time to watch (the film) all this. When we ask to talk about the Adani file (indictment issue), his government runs away. Farmers are at the borders of Delhi, near Noida, to press their demands but the Prime Minister doesn't have the time to speak to them. He (PM Modi) is going to watch a film along with his MPs," Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut told reporters.
Raut lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance for not finalising the Chief Minister of Maharashtra despite getting a huge mandate. He said that even 10 days after poll results the Mahayuti has not approached the Raj Bhavan to stake claims for the formation of the government.
"Eknath Shinde is the caretaker Chief Minister of Maharashtra. How can a Chief Minister disappear? Delhi has CBI, Police, RAW and Intelligence...A game is going on in Maharashtra. It has been 10 days. They (Mahayuti) have a huge majority but even then they are not able to declare the name of the Chief Minister till now... They have not gone to stake claims to form the government in Raj Bhavan till now and the Raj Bhavan also hasn't invited them to form the government. The Chief Minister's name has not been finalised till now. Who is doing this? This is all a game of Delhi," Raut said.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Girish Mahajan met Maharashtra's caretaker Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde, on Monday. Shinde, who had been suffering from a throat infection and fever, is recovering well.
Mahajan stated that during their meeting, they discussed preparations for the swearing-in ceremony of the next Maharashtra Chief Minister, which is scheduled for December 5.
He also underlined that there are no conflicts among the leaders of the Mahayuti alliance.
"I came here to meet Eknath Shinde, who has not been well for the past few days. There is no displeasure. We sat together for an hour and had a conversation. He also discussed preparations for December 5, and I shared some thoughts as well. We have a lot of work to do for the people of the state, and we are going to work together for them," Girish Mahajan told reporters after meeting Shinde.
Earlier, Shinde had confirmed that he had recovered from the fever and was in good health.
The Mahayuti alliance, led by the BJP, secured a landslide victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections held on November 23. However, the alliance has yet to finalize its Chief Ministerial candidate. The BJP emerged as the largest party with 132 seats in the 280-member Assembly, while its allies--the Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde, and the NCP, led by Ajit Pawar--won 57 and 41 seats, respectively.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a major setback in the recently held Maharashtra elections. Congress won only 16 out of 288 assembly seats, while its alliance partner, Shiv Sena (UBT), won 20 seats. The NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) secured only 10 seats.