‘Quit instead of being sacked’

Mumbai: Accusing chief minister Devendra Fadnavis of mishandling the Maratha quota agitation, the Congress on Thursday demanded that Mr Fadnavis should quit before his own party decides to show him the door.

Violence was witnessed at many places during Wednesday’s shutdown called by Maratha outfits demanding reservations in government jobs and educational institutes. Speaking to the media, state Congress chief Ashok Chavan said the law and order situation in the state was bad because of “poor decision-making of the chief minister”.

When asked about Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s claim that there was “talk” within the BJP that the state leadership should be changed, Mr Chavan said, “Congress is not concerned about the BJP’s internal issues. The fact is that law and order situation in the state is not good, and the state government and Mr Fadnavis are responsible for that. We want him to quit before being replaced,” said Mr Chavan. Further, he denied the allegation that Mr Fadnavis was being targeted because he is a non-Maratha.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai Congress has announced that it will stage a morcha against the Union government on Monday over the Rafale fighter aircraft deal with France. The party has raised the issue as part of its agenda ahead of the general elections next year. Mr Chavan alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cheated people by hiding facts about the deal. Recently, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had questioned the government over the cost of the deal.

Mr Chavan asked, “Defense minister Nir-mala Sitharaman had claimed that government can’t make the amount public, but it is false. France government’s agreement with Iran and Kuwait are in public domain then why our government is not declaring the amount?”

“Congress government had finalised Rs 526 crore per plane and France was also to give us technology, which would have boosted the Indian manufacturing in defense sector,” said Mr Chavan adding that, “But Modi government raised the price from Rs 526 crore to rs 1,670 crore. Also, now France won’t be giving the technology.”