‘Stop theatrics, appoint Oppn leader’: Former CM Prithviraj Chavan tells Fadnavis
Referring to the Chief Minister’s statement that the Assembly Speaker would decide on the appointment of the Opposition leader, Chavan said Fadnavis is in charge.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. (Express Photo/Ganesh Shirsekar) Former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Saturday hit out at Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the continued denial of the Leader of Opposition post to Maha Vikas Aghadi, holding the CM responsible for the delay.
“Devendra Fadnavis needs to become large-hearted. He is depriving the rightful claim of the opposition to be the voice of the people. His behaviour is not in the interest of a robust democracy,” Chavan said at an event in Pimpri-Chinchwad.
Chavan said Fadnavis was the one “calling the shots” in Maharashtra. Referring to the Chief Minister’s statement that the Assembly Speaker would decide on the appointment of the Opposition leader, Chavan said, “Actually, Fadnavis is in charge and he should stop indulging in theatrics. He should not hide behind the Speaker. If he does not want an Opposition leader, he should say it in so many words.”
Earlier in the day, Chavan released the autobiography of social activist Manav Kamble and praised him, describing Kamble as a role model for the younger generation.
“Even in today’s times, we have activists like Manav Kamble who is a role model for younger generations. He has shown youngsters the way as to how to fight the odds of life and overcome them,” Chavan said after launching the autobiography, Jana Gana Mana, written by Kamble, at an event in Chinchwad. Prominent among those present were Vishwambhar Choudhari, advocate Asim Sarode, Maruti Bhapkar, Prof Subash Ware, Chandrakant Salaskar and others.
Chavan said the book should be translated into other languages as well. “If it is translated in other languages, it will help youngsters from different regions to understand the problems that might crop up and how to deal with them like Manav Kamble did,” he said.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Kamble, a senior activist from Pimpri-Chinchwad, said, “My autobiography will certainly inspire the younger generations. It highlights how I have come up in life through extremely difficult situations. I lost both my legs in a train accident. But that did not deter me. I took the challenges of life head on and kept surmounting the odds. I have relentlessly fought for people of Pune, Pimpri and Maharashtra. I have several times taken up cudgels on behalf of the citizens and taken their grievances to a logical conclusion.”
Thanking the former Chief Minister for attending the function, Kamble said, “I had sent a copy of my book to Chavan saheb. He read it and was impressed by the way I have faced life and overcome the odds while lending my best possible help to the masses.”
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