“Only half the truth about the early morning swearing-in ceremony is out as yet. More will come. I will bring the entire truth out,” Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters on Thursday. The statement assumes significance against the background of the recent statement by Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar about the hurried oath-taking ceremony and the lifting of the President’s rule in Maharashtra in 2019.
Fadnavis also took a jibe at the NCP, claiming that the party was in a habit of terming its leaders future PM or CM. The jibe was aimed not just at Supriya Sule, but also Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar, and Jayant Patil. He took potshots at the party after being asked about the recent emergence of posters calling Supriya Sule, Ajit Pawar, and Jayant Patil future chief ministers of Maharashtra.
During a press meet at Ahmednagar, he was asked about the recent statement by Sharad Pawar where he had asked how the President’s rule would have been lifted, had Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis not formed the short-lived government. Fadnavis said, “It is good. Slowly, all the mysteries are being unravelled. And it shows what I had said was right. You have learnt only half the things. Other things will also come out. I have told you, when I say something, the other side reveals the truth. Slowly, I will bring out the entire truth.”
Fadnavis had revealed in an interview a few days ago that the early morning swearing-in ceremony was held with the express consent of Sharad Pawar. The NCP president was the one with whom all the discussions had taken place, he had said. While NCP leader Ajit Pawar had refused to comment on it, Sharad Pawar asked reporters recently, “Would Uddhav Thackeray have become the chief minister, had the President’s rule not been lifted?” This statement led to widespread speculation on whether Pawar senior was the brains behind the surprise move.
When asked about the posters, Fadnavis said, “This is the system in NCP. They keep saying, future President, future Prime Minister, future chief minister. But my best wishes. I have learnt from my experience that anything can happen at any moment. Did anyone imagine that Uddhav Thackeray will become the chief minister? He became one. So whoever feels someone is a future leader, my best wishes to all of them.”
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