Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday claimed that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis could be shifted to a national role if a Cabinet reshuffle takes place at the Centre, with a senior BJP leader potentially replacing him as the state’s chief minister.
Speaking to reporters in Nagpur during his visit ahead of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT)’s ‘Ram Raksha Andolan’, Raut said key changes could take place in Maharashtra and at the Centre in the event of a reshuffle in the next one or two months.
“If a reshuffle happens at the Centre, Fadnavis may go there to serve the nation and a senior BJP minister can become the chief minister of Maharashtra,” Raut said.
Raut was in Nagpur to prepare for the ‘Ram Raksha’ protest scheduled on July 18 over allegations of financial irregularities in donations made to the Ayodhya Ram temple.
He said invitations had been sent to all “Hindutvavadi” organisations, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and urged RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to send a representative if he could not attend.
“We have requested RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to send his representative if he is not able to come. Similarly, invitations have been sent to the leaders and local MLAs as well to different political parties, including the BJP,” he said.
Raut said Ram devotees and Sena (UBT) workers from across Vidarbha, which includes 11 districts including Nagpur, would participate in the protest.
On Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking an all-party meeting on delimitation before the Parliament session, Raut said, “We agree with what he (Kharge) is saying.”
The government is expected to introduce the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill during the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning July 20, proposing an increase in Lok Sabha seats and initiating the delimitation process.
Reacting to activist Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike in support of the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar over alleged examination irregularities, Raut questioned the government’s response.
“Is the report of their deteriorating condition not reaching the PM, Home Minister and President Droupadi Murmu?
All those in power have lost empathy. Does anyone in the Modi cabinet have the courage to stand for Sonam Wangchuk?, he asked.”
(With inputs from PTI)