EVEN as the Shiv Sena Wednesday denied that it has approached the Congress to form government after 2014 assembly elections, senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan insisted that "Sena did approach the Congress," however refused to divulge further details. "I will not reveal names of the leaders who approached us. If I do, then I will be betraying confidence that they (Sena) showed in me," Chavan told this paper. Stating that he does not want to rebut the Sena, Chavan however said he will stand by his statement. "I stand by my statement.,"he said. Chavan's reaction came after Sena mouthpiece, Saamna, in an editorial today trashed his claims made in an interview to PTI. "There is no logic in what Prithviraj Chavan is saying," said the paper, whose executive editor is party MP Sanjay Raut. He had earlier refused to speak on Chavan's claims, saying he does not want to create another controversy. Ridiculing the former CM, the had paper said, “There is no logic in what Chavan has said. The claim should have evaporated in Mumbai’s mild winter breeze. The Shiv Sena and NCP didn’t take the claim seriously. But, BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis criticised the Shiv Sena, saying Chavan had exposed the party.” The paper said Sena does not want to get into what Chavan claimed, but it has exposed the real face of BJP. "Actually, in 2014, BJP's real face was exposed and this was seen by the entire nation. NCP leader Praful Patel offering support to had unmasked BJP's real face. It seems like it was all pre-decided." In the editorial, the Sena said,"Even if Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena had tried to come together in 2014, still the number (required for majority) would not have been possible. It would have been around 149 which was dangerous. It would have been a thin majority and BJP, which is expert in horsetrading would have got ready to play its tricks." The paper said in 2014, all the four parties fought separately and the result was a hung assembly. "Under the leadership of Prithviraj Chavan, the Congress lost miserably and was relegated to fourth position. And therefore, Congress at that time had no voice. There was no question of approaching Chavan with a proposal for forming the government. Shiv Sena had made up its mind to sit in the opposition and BJP was throwing its Hindutva leaders network all around," the paper said. Stating that BJP has worn several masks, the paper said this time, NCP chief Sharad Pawar did not allow the Saffron party's political schemes to succeed and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi did not reject the proposal to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
