Journalism of Courage
During the Maharashtra Legislature’s ongoing winter session, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)’s bid to target Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has given a reprieve to his senior alliance partner BJP led by Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.
The session commencing from December 19 in Nagpur was set to be stormy with the MVA comprising of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Congress and NCP gearing up to corner the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena-BJP government. In an interesting move, instead of going after the BJP and Fadnavis, the pivot of the ruling alliance, the MVA took aim at the CM over his alleged involvement in the Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) land lease deal scam.
The Opposition’s fireworks against CM Shinde while alleging his involvement in the NIT land scam overshadowed its broadside against the BJP. Led by Leader of Opposition (LoP) Ajit Pawar, the MVA kept the heat on the CM inside and outside the Legislature, demanding his resignation, which was rejected by the ruling camp.
During his tenure as the urban development minister in the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government, Shinde had ordered the NIT to lease out 19331.20 sq mt land to 16 builders, even though this plot was said to be meant for housing for the poor. The land valued at Rs 83 crore was handed to these 16 builders for Rs 2 crore. Shinde is also facing the charge of violating the norms in this case as a public interest petition related to the plot has been pending in the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court.
NCP MLA Jitendra Awadh raised the issue in the state Assembly soon after the winter session got underway. The Uddhav Sena, Congress and NCP then collectively raised it inside the Assembly and the Legislative Council. The MVA members also staged protests outside the Legislature premises on the issue, highlighting what they called was the “first uncovered scam” against the CM.
On his part, Shinde was taken aback by the Opposition’s bristling attack. He claimed he was not aware that the matter had been pending in the court. He assured the Opposition he would withdraw the allotment order. The MVA’s attack however did not show any signs of abating.
Although Fadnavis rose in defence of Shinde to counter the Opposition’s charges, the BJP seemed to be a “mute spectator” in the House. Politically, this may have worked to the BJP’s advantage as it gave the party a breather – on Fadnavis’s home turf – from being perennially in the line of the MVA’s fire besides reinforcing its upper hand over the junior ally.
Although Shinde’s alleged involvement in the NIT land scam is dated back to his ministerial tenure during the Uddhav government, the Sena (UBT) did not relent in firing salvos at him. As Uddhav said, “If Eknath Shinde has committed a wrong why should anybody justify it. A wrong is a wrong.”
A senior Sena (UBT) leader, requesting anonymity, said, “Had it been any other CM we would have taken up the matter and left it. But in case of Shinde there is no question of showing sympathy. He had led the revolt and split the Shiv Sena with help from the BJP.”
Ajit Pawar said, “It is not about personally targeting the CM. We are raising an issue where irregularities have been established. Opposition’s job is to highlight the wrongdoing in government.”
The state Congress chief, Nana Patole, expressed similar sentiments, saying “The developments have tarnished the image of the government led by Shinde.”
A question doing the rounds in state political circles is, why has Fadnavis, who has taken a high moral ground against corruption, chosen to defend Shinde strongly. During the MVA regime, as the then LoP Fadnavis had gone all out to force the resignation of the then home minister Anil Deshmukh in an alleged corruption case.
A senior Balasahebanchi Sena minister said, “CM has become the soft target. The NCP chose to attack Shinde to be in the good books of the BJP as it reckons the BJP-led Centre has agencies which can be activated to expose their individual wrongdoings.” A dozen of Congress, NCP and Sena (UBT) leaders have been under the central agencies’ scanner.
In Maharashtra politics, the Opposition parties have periodically adopted strategies vis-a-vis the ruling camp that entail targeting a party or leader from an ally while sparing another in a bid to drive a wedge in their coalition government.
In 1995, the Sena CM Manohar Joshi was perceived to be close to Sharad Pawar, the NCP founder who was then with the Congress. The Opposition was then often seen mounting fierce attacks on Joshi’s deputy from the BJP, late Gopinath Munde, who had launched a state-wide campaign against the Pawar-led Congress.
When the Congress-NCP coalition was in power, the BJP chose to target Ajit Pawar over the alleged irrigation scam while appearing to go soft on the Congress CMs. The strategy was to target a leader or party at one time while
maintaining cordial relations with the other coalition partner in the government.
Since the formation of the Shinde-Fadnavis government on June 30 this year, the MVA has kept its guns trained on the BJP against whom it has plenty of ammunition. During the Legislature’s current session in Nagpur, it seems to have chaged tack and chosen to gun for CM Shinde, even as it has a range of issues including the agriculture crisis, farmers’ suicide, unemployment and lack of industrial development in the Vidarbha region to put the government on the mat.
