This is an archive article published on July 18, 2021
‘Shiv Sena decided on Maharashtra CM, will continue to do so for 25 years’: War of words erupts between Sena and NCP leaders
Shirur MP Amol Kolhe's made the remark which triggered Shiv Sena during the inauguration of Khed and Narayangaon bypass on Saturday. Adhalrao has decided to hold a press conference later in the day to give a "befitting reply" to Kolhe.
The Shiv Sena has objected strongly to Shirur MP Amol Kolhe's statement that Uddhav Thackeray is the Maharashtra chief minister because of the blessings of NCP chief Sharad Pawar. (File Photo)
A war of words has once again erupted between NCP and Shiv Sena leaders from Shirur parliamentary constituency in Pune district. The Shiv Sena has objected strongly to Shirur MP Amol Kolhe’s statement that Uddhav Thackeray is the Maharashtra chief minister because of the blessings of NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
“Shiv Sena decided who should be the chief minister of Maharashtra. And will continue to do so for next 25 years,” former MP Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil told The Indian Express today (Sunday) morning in response to Kolhe’s statement.
Kolhe made the remark which triggered Shiv Sena during the inauguration of Khed and Narayangaon bypass on Saturday. Adhalrao has decided to hold a press conference later in the day to give a “befitting reply” to Kolhe.
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When contacted, Kolhe said he has the utmost respect for the chief minister and shares a good rapport with him. “I am being misunderstood….I had said I have complete respect for Uddhav Thackeray. If anyone has a doubt, they should verify it from my speeches in the Lok Sabha. Unfortunately, in the name of the chief minister, the Sena is frequently criticising me and my party. I had said that if they are doing this by hiding behind the CM, then they should remember that Uddhav Thackeray is the CM because of the blessings of our party chief. The statement was made in this context,” he said.
“I have been consistently and with pride taking up issues related to Maharashtra and those raised and pursued by the MVA Government in Parliament. The CM has also appreciated my speeches,” Kohle added.
Adhalrao, however, said Kolhe was now backtracking because NCP chief Sharad Pawar had pulled him up. “As per my information, our leaders like Sanjay Raut had taken up the issue with the NCP chief who has made it clear that he did not approve such statements regarding the chief minister. And that is why he (Kolhe) has now climbed down,” said Adhalrao.
The controversy erupted on Friday after an invitation card for the bypass inauguration function went viral on social media. Adhalrao quickly objected to it as it did not contain the pictures or name of the chief minister. “I had taken the initiative for the construction of the bypass. It was only after my speech in Lok Sabha, the then Union minister Nitin Gadkari had announced the bypass plan. Tenders were floated during my tenure, a letter of intent and a work order were given. Yet, the Sena has not been given any credit,” said Adhalrao, who inaugurated the bypass a day before Kolhe could do so, triggering the verbal duel.
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On his part, Kolhe agreed that Adhalrao initiated the bypass project. “It is true that he (Adhalrao) initiated the project but I chased it with the government and got it completed. I was going to invite him to the function. But before I could do so, he inaugurated it,” Kolhe said.
Kolhe said the Sena has been frequently criticising him and even trying to put hurdles in the development works he intended to carry out. “I have kept quiet for the last two years. Since this was repeatedly happening, I need to highlight it. The CM has given directions to the Sena to start Shiv Sampark Abhiyan to take government initiatives to the people. However, the Sena is instead criticising me and my party. Their leaders are also making statements like they will bury my party. Instead of working together and strengthening the Maha Vikas Aghadi, they are working at cross purposes,” he said.
Adhalrao said he had never criticised the sitting MP. “I have not criticised the sitting MP. Other leaders must have done so,” he said.
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Manoj More has been working with the Indian Express since 1992. For the first 16 years, he worked on the desk, edited stories, made pages, wrote special stories and handled The Indian Express edition. In 31 years of his career, he has regularly written stories on a range of topics, primarily on civic issues like state of roads, choked drains, garbage problems, inadequate transport facilities and the like. He has also written aggressively on local gondaism. He has primarily written civic stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khadki, Maval and some parts of Pune. He has also covered stories from Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Latur. He has had maximum impact stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial city which he has covered extensively for the last three decades.
Manoj More has written over 20,000 stories. 10,000 of which are byline stories. Most of the stories pertain to civic issues and political ones. The biggest achievement of his career is getting a nearly two kilometre road done on Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki in 2006. He wrote stories on the state of roads since 1997. In 10 years, nearly 200 two-wheeler riders had died in accidents due to the pathetic state of the road. The local cantonment board could not get the road redone as it lacked funds. The then PMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi took the initiative, went out of his way and made the Khadki road by spending Rs 23 crore from JNNURM Funds. In the next 10 years after the road was made by the PMC, less than 10 citizens had died, effectively saving more than 100 lives.
Manoj More's campaign against tree cutting on Pune-Mumbai highway in 1999 and Pune-Nashik highway in 2004 saved 2000 trees.
During Covid, over 50 doctors were asked to pay Rs 30 lakh each for getting a job with PCMC. The PCMC administration alerted Manoj More who did a story on the subject, asking then corporators how much money they demanded....The story worked as doctors got the job without paying a single paisa.
Manoj More has also covered the "Latur drought" situation in 2015 when a "Latur water train" created quite a buzz in Maharashtra. He also covered the Malin tragedy where over 150 villagers had died.
Manoj More is on Facebook with 4.9k followers (Manoj More), on twitter manojmore91982 ... Read More
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